The Spirit of Fear
by JBGilroy
Summary: Six years ago Jack Frost became the latest guardian. Now days away from Hallowe'en, the Man in the Moon wants to appoint a new guardian, Danny, the Spirit of Fear. The new reluctant guardian is a lot more than he seems. But why does the Man in the Moon think there's a need for another guardian? (T rating just to be on the safe side).
1. Chapter 1

**Another fanfic.**

 **This one was mainly inspired by wanting to write a story where Danny isn't the one who lost something, but rather his family… you'll see what I mean later on. But let me know what you guys think as the story goes.**

 **Oh, by the way, Phantom Planet didn't happen but the last season did.**

 **So… I don't own Danny Phantom or Rise of the Guardians.**

 **And without any further ado, let's get this story started.**

Santa's workshop has always been a very hectic and busy place to be. And today was no different. Santa Clause, or as he was known by his friends, North was busy carving ice sculptures of his latest toy designs. The elves were waddling around the workroom stuffing their faces with cookies and generally being a nuisance. North waved away an elf as he started up his chainsaw. He was about to start cutting up a massive chunk of ice when one of the yetis barged in. North turned off the chainsaw and glared at the yeti.

"What? I was about to start my next project," North grumbled disappointedly. The yeti garbled something and North's eyes widened.

"Show me!" North demanded and dropped his chainsaw onto his chair. Two elves eyed the ice and then the chainsaw before grinning mischievously. North poked his head back around the open door.

"You touch that chainsaw and you are all on Naughty List!" he warned and then disappeared to follow the yeti. Both elves frowned and didn't even bother to look at their friend who had stuck their tongue to the ice block and couldn't free themselves.

North marched through the workshop, throwing comments to various yetis about their progress. Changes of colour, if the hairstyles on dolls were too curly, teddies not stuffed enough and so on. He stopped beside the guardians' corner of his workshop and the yeti pointed through a skylight above a massive globe illuminated by numerous dots of light to a full moon shining inside. North's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Man in Moon?" North muttered and turned to a handle on the console. He lifted it up, turned it and pushed down. The northern lights erupted through the sky and signalled to the other guardians that they were needed at the North Pole.

Bunny, the Easter bunny, had been relaxing in his native Australian outback but the second he saw the lights he jumped to his feet and tapped the ground, opening a hole to his tunnels and dove in. Within minutes he arrived in the North Pole. Sandman, or Sandy, had been busy bring sweet dreams to the children of the world and saw the lights in the dark sky. He instantly changed his dream sand into a fighter jet and flew to the North Pole.

Tooth, the queen tooth fairy, was out in the field collecting teeth and leaving change. She smiled happily at the little girl she was visiting before the northern lights caught her eye through the window. She glanced one last time at the girl.

"Try to remember to floss," she whispered and flew through the window towards the North Pole. Jack Frost, the newest guardian, was busy having fun bringing the first frosts this side of summer to his favourite town, Burgess. He laughed as he froze the leaves on a bush before noticing the sky. He frowned and jumped into the air, controlling the winter winds and flying like a snowflake, went to the North Pole.

"North what's up?" Jack called as he arrived, the last one there.

"Nice of you to join us," Bunny grumbled.

"Don't start Bunny," Tooth quickly interjected before the two guardians could start bickering like usual.

"Man in Moon wants to talk to us," North announced. Jack and Bunny ended their staring, no glaring, contest and looked up to the skylight and noticed the full moon. A large beam of light shone down to the ground and illuminated the five spoked star on the ground. The guardians newly redesigned seal, including Jack.

"Wait, is he appointing a new guardian?" Tooth queried. Bunny and North shared a look.

"Why would he do that? I mean we haven't had any trouble for years, not since we stopped Pitch six years ago," Bunny retorted. Sandy shrugged. The centre glowed bright white and a bluish crystal rose up from the hole created.

"So this is how the Man in the Moon chose me?" Jack wondered aloud. Tooth nodded.

"Please not the Groundhog," Bunny began to repeat under his breath. Jack raised an eyebrow at the oversized rabbit. Blue light reflected up from the moonbeam and a figure began to take form.

The figure had messy hair but the colour couldn't be seen since it was only an outline. The figure wore a t-shirt under a thick jacket with a small symbol like a school crest on his chest. They wore fingerless gloves, jeans and sneakers. Everyone frowned in confusion.

"Who is that?" Jack ventured, having never seen the boy. He looked young, probably around Jack's age before he died. Tooth looked shocked and glanced at North and Sandy nervously.

"Woah woah woah! Danny! Manny wants to make the Spirit of Fear a guardian!" Bunny exclaimed incredulously. Jack blinked in surprise.

"Spirit of Fear?" he repeated.

"He's a new spirit. Only been around for four years as far as I know," North explained.

"We might as well ask Pitch to join us!" Bunny growled and glared at the moon as it began to fade, the light no longer illuminating the crystal. The crystal slowly shrank back into the ground and the central panel resealed itself.

"Well, the Man in the Moon has never been wrong before," Tooth pointed out. Sandy created a number of shapes above his head and Jack nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, you didn't want me to be a guardian at first," Jack agreed.

"That was different. You were just a reckless, irresponsible show pony. Danny… he's the Spirit of Fear. He goes around scaring kids! How can that be a good thing for a guardian," Bunny argued.

"Man in Moon doesn't make mistakes," North remarked. Bunny nodded.

"Which means that he's overdue for one. I'm telling you. If he becomes a guardian then I quit. Making him a guardian won't work!" Bunny threatened. Jack laughed.

"Don't tempt me cottontail," Jack commented. Bunny glared at him.

"Look, Manny obviously thinks differently. Besides as of now, he already is a guardian. The oath is only a formality. We need to inform Danny of the news. So Bunny?" North interjected before bickering could start.

Bunny scowled at North.

"What? I'm not getting him!" Bunny growled.

"I'll go. I think I can think of an easier and better way to bring him here than shoving him in a sack and getting kidnapped by yetis. I'll be back soon. Oh and North. Don't make a big deal of it. Might scare off Danny, trust me, trumpets, torches and the shoes were a little overwhelming," Jack volunteered. North frowned.

"I thought that was a good idea," he mumbled. Jack shook his head and smiled before jumping into the air and flew out of the skylight and flew through the sky. The Spirit of Fear couldn't be all that bad right?

 **And we have our characters introduced. So, Danny will be introduced properly in the next chapter.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Danny walked down the road. He had a very unique appearance. His right eye was a piercing green and his left was an icy blue. His right side of his hair was stark white and the other half was jet black. He wore the same shirt he used to wear when he was alive and in his human form, the only difference was the red logo was now his logo but black. He wore his usual blue jeans. His sneakers looked the same except instead of red, they were black and white and his old logo was printed on the side. He wore white fingerless gloves and he wore a large black leather jacket which he left open. His logo was printed on his chest, not unlike a school crest.

He looked at a local paper, the Burgess Gazette. Burgess. Haven't been in this town for a while, Danny mused to himself. He walked boldly down the street and scanned the population for anyone looking afraid. It didn't matter if anyone looked at him, they wouldn't see him. No one ever could. But Danny understood and tried not to let it get to him. He noticed a bunch of kids running after a small, geeky looking kid. Danny growled angrily to himself. Danny could feel the boy's fear. Lifting his left hand he channelled his ice powers and made the ground slippery. The group of bullies fell over and the geeky boy escaped. Danny had learned very early on that he could use his ice powers only on the side that took after his human half and his ghost ray only of the side that resembled his ghost half.

He'd been dead for four years. He could remember a lot of his life but not everything. Danny guessed that was because he had been half ghost. But after he died, no one could see him anymore. Not even his friends or family. The Man in the Moon had explained why. Most creatures like him, beings of magic needed to be believed in to be seen. Danny and Pitch were exceptions. Pitch Black, the Boogieman, needed to be feared to be seen but the king of nightmares didn't understand that. Danny was different. People needed to be ready to face fear to see him. The problem was no child ever was ready to face their fears, very few people were.

Danny walked calmly past the cussing bullies as they got to their feet, slipping on the ice Danny had made. Danny smirked at their annoyance, reminded of his own bully that he vaguely recalled. He couldn't remember the blonde, muscular guy's name but that didn't matter. He spotted a girl fidgeting nervously with her mobile and looking worried. She had long light brown hair, messily tucked behind her ears and wore jeans and a thick red jumper. Her brown eyes darted around her anxiously and glanced frequently at her phone. Danny watched her and sensed her terror. He joined her and placed a hand on her shoulder. This was the only way he could interact with her.

"Hey, what's your name?" Danny muttered.

"Diana," a girl's voice answered without the fearful girl opening her mouth.

"Why are you frightened?" Danny asked.

"A bully took my pocket money. I couldn't afford the bus and I'm late getting home. My mom is going to be furious!" Diana explained, again without opening her mouth.

"Why didn't you call her and explain? You're holding your cell right there," Danny inquired gently. Sometimes kids just needed a little nudge in the right direction.

"I forgot to charge it last night. It died while I was at school," Diana replied.

"Okay, don't worry. I'll be with you the whole time and I can help you, if you'd like. Lead the way to your house," Danny offered. The girl nodded without realising and a little smile came to her lips.

"It's gonna be alright. I just need to get home," Diana whispered to herself, moving her lips for the first time.

Within a few minutes Diana reached her front door and dug out her keys. She stepped inside and Danny turned himself intangible to follow her inside. Diana walked straight to the kitchen where they found her mother. Her mother had short dark brown hair and blue eyes. However in her hand was an empty glass bottle which had been filled with vodka. Her face burned red, either from the alcohol or anger, Danny guessed it was probably a bit of both. Danny felt Diana's fear double and Danny suddenly understood why. Her mother was an alcoholic and Danny was willing to guess that she was a violent, angry drunk too.

"Where have you been!? You were meant to be back here twenty minutes ago!" Diana's mother shouted angrily, a slight slur to her words. Diana stiffened and took a step back. Danny put his hand on her shoulder.

"Diana, it's alright. Just tell her what happened," Danny suggested.

"I can't. If I tell her that a bully took my pocket money and I need more money for the rest of the week, she'll be furious!" Diana retorted quickly, without moving her mouth. Her mother unaware of the exchange. Danny's special power was telepathy when he touched a child. He could ask questions and they subconsciously answered him if they accepted his help. He'd been told to go away before but usually the kid answered him.

"Well!" Diana's mother demanded. Diana bit her lip. Her fear was overwhelming.

"Lie then. Tell her that the bus didn't show at the stop and you walked home. Say your phone died and you couldn't call home," Danny offered, seeing the warning signs in her mother from his experience ghost fighting.

"I-I couldn't call. My ph-phone died. The… the bus didn't show," Diana stammered, shaking slightly from her fear. Her mother stood up and stumbled over. She stared into the girl's eyes and frowned angrily.

"Fine. Get me another bottle," she ordered. Diana nodded and avoided her mother's eye.

"Great job Diana. See everything is alright. Get her another bottle and excuse yourself to do homework. Lock your door and don't come out unless you have to," Danny muttered to Diana and released her shoulder. Diana nodded and gave her mother a tentative smile and walked carefully over to a cupboard and took out an unopened bottle of vodka and gave it to her mother.

"Mom, I-I have a lot of homework. Can I be excused?" Diana whispered. Her mother waved her daughter away and stumbled back to her chair and opened the bottle, throwing back her head as she took a swig.

 **So Diana is going to be a key character in this story. Let me know what you guys think of Danny.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Diana quickly left the kitchen and went straight to her bedroom, locking the door. She dropped her school bag on the ground and collapsed on her bed. Danny phased through a wall and joined her. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Diana, has your mom ever hurt you?" Danny asked softly. Diana unknowingly nodded.

"But only when she's really angry and drunk," Diana answered telepathically. Danny frowned sadly at her.

"How long has this been going on?" Danny inquired. Diana shrugged without her knowledge.

"Since dad died. He was in a car crash two years ago on Hallowe'en. Mom turned to drink to cope. She's only ever this bad around Hallowe'en," Diana explained telepathically. Danny nodded.

"Why haven't you told anyone?" Danny wondered.

"Because I already lost my dad, I don't want to lose my mom. Besides it's only around Hallowe'en when she drinks like this. As long as I don't make her angry. I'll be fine," Diana replied telepathically. Danny shook his head.

"What about tomorrow? Do you have any money for a bus tomorrow?" Danny reminded her. Diana bit her lip and shook her head.

"No, I don't get much pocket money. Mom uses all the money she gets from her job on the bills, food and drink," Diana answered. Danny scowled in thought.

"Would you be able to sleep over at someone else's house tomorrow night? You could explain to them about your problem and they might be able to help," Danny asked. Diana sat up, unknowingly pushing Danny away. She got up off the bed and plugged her phone into her charger by her bed and waited a few seconds before turning it on. Her phone gave a happy little jingle as it turned on and the black screen lit up. She opened her contacts and scrolled through the list of names.

"I could ask Jamie for a sleep over," Diana suggested out loud. Danny smiled. Diana wanted help. She was accepting his advice and suggestions. She was just too afraid to ask for it. She was afraid to lose her mother and too afraid of her mother to go against her. Danny placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Call them or text them. Ask for a sleepover. If they want to know why, I'm sure you wouldn't have chosen them if you didn't trust them. Just say what's wrong," Danny urged gently. Diana shook her head.

"I can't tell him about mom! What if she gets in trouble? What if she finds out I told?" Diana telepathically shouted, fear radiating off her.

"Alright! Alright, don't say anything yet then. But I'm sure that your friend will want to help you. But tell him that your mom is working late tomorrow night and you don't want to be alone at home," Danny recommended. Diana nodded and tapped in Jamie's phone number and called him.

"Hey Di, what's up? Having trouble with that geography homework?" Jamie answered. Diana chuckled softly and shook her head. Danny could feel the fear fading already.

"No, I was wondering if I could come over to your house tomorrow and maybe spend the night or something. Mom's working late," Diana replied.

"Doesn't bother me. Hold on, I'll ask my mom," Jamie agreed.

"Mom! Can Diana come over tomorrow and stay for the night?!" Jamie shouted. A few moments passed.

"Yeah, mom says it's fine," Jamie informed her. Diana grinned.

"Thanks Jamie. I'll see you tomorrow at school alright," Diana concluded.

"Sure, but if you have any luck with that history homework, could you call me back and help me," Jamie requested. Diana laughed.

"Sure Jamie," Diana retorted and hung up. Then Diana's fear returned.

"But what about mom? She's going to be even angrier if I stay out all night tomorrow," Diana whispered fearfully. Danny rested his hand on her shoulder again.

"Diana, calm down. Ask her over dinner or in the morning when she's sobered up. Tell her that a number of your friends said they'd be there. If there's a lot of people going then your mom can't be angry at you. Then when you come back, if she asks about it, say that only Jamie was there after all. That way if she asks anyone about the party, you don't look bad. Are you going to be alright now for a little while? I have to go check up on other kids. I'll be back tomorrow though," Danny asked. Diana nodded.

"Thanks. I have to start my homework anyway," Diana answered telepathically. Danny smiled warmly and released her shoulder and phased through the door. Diana would be fine. She just needed a confidence boost to get through this. A confidence boost and encouragement to get help. Hopefully this Jamie boy would be smart and be able to help his friend.

 **In case anyone is wondering… Jamie is Jamie Bennett.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Jack landed in the frosty park. It was dark. He groaned in annoyance. It was taking ages to track down Danny. Especially since Jack didn't know what he was looking for exactly. Was he looking for Danny himself? Where did Danny hang out most? Should he look out for kids screaming? Jack didn't know enough to find the Spirit of Fear. Maybe he should have asked Tooth and her fairies for back up. He sat down on the bench and scowled in thought. Finding one person in the world was hard. Finding a person when you were invisible and couldn't ask around was even harder. Jack huffed his stresses away and made a small snow flurry over his hand and played with a snowflake to relax.

Feeling calmer, Jack stood up, picking up his trusty wooden staff and scanned the park before scowling at a little kid scurrying across the road looking nervous. Jack decided to follow the little boy out of concern. Despite being the spirit of winter, he felt a chill through the air. He frowned. Then he noticed a boy that looked very like Danny with unusual hair and eyes. The image hadn't shown it, but both eyes were strikingly different and half of his hair was even whiter than Jack's and yet half of it was darker than Pitch. Jack saw Danny kick over a tin can by a dumpster and the kid Jack had been following whimpered nervously and rushed down the road faster. Jack scowled angrily. He ran over to Danny. Danny kicked the can again and the kid started to walk faster. Danny picked up the can and threw it across the road to an alley near the boy. It fell to the ground with a clatter. The boy cried out and began to run for it. Danny shook his head.

"Danny?! Right?" Jack called cautiously. Danny turned to Jack and smiled.

"Let me guess, Jack Frost?" Danny replied. Jack blinked in surprise.

"How did you know that?" Jack whispered. Danny chuckled.

"Not hard to figure out. I can see the frost all over that staff of yours and I've heard about you from a few leprechauns I've seen. Fellow trickster they called you," Danny answered. Jack laughed softly.

"Yeah, those guys are really fun to hang out with," Jack muttered. Danny shrugged.

"Personally, I find them a little annoying after a while. But fun in small doses. So, why are you talking to me?" Danny remarked. Jack smiled nervously.

"I came to get you. The Man in the Moon has made you a guardian. The others are waiting at the Pole," Jack informed him. Danny's easy expression hardened.

"No," he retorted stiffly and walked down the street. Jack blinked in surprise. He ran after Danny.

"What do you mean, "No"?" Jack asked. Danny huffed with annoyance.

"I don't obey the Man in the Moon," Danny growled. Jack frowned.

"Obey? Who said anything about obeying him? This is a great honour Danny. You should be happy," Jack retorted confused. Danny stopped and turned to Jack.

"I don't listen to higher powers Jack. It's never done me any good. I don't listen to the Man in the Moon and I don't listen to the guardians. Got it?" Danny snarled. He then turned to leave.

"So what? You scare kids for fun? You have no purpose? Just like Pitch," Jack replied angrily. Danny froze. He turned to Jack with a dangerous look in his mismatched eyes.

"You don't know what you're talking about! I am _nothing_ like Pitch!" Danny growled furiously. Jack swallowed down his unease at the glare Danny was giving him.

"Then prove it. Help the guardians," Jack muttered, in a smaller voice than he intended. Danny scoffed.

"I'm not a team player. I especially don't play well with people that fear me," Danny replied. Jack's eyes widened in surprise.

"Fear you? I don't-" Jack began.

"Jack, I can feel you're scared. Spirit of Fear remember? I have stuff to do," Danny interrupted and walked down the road, vanishing from sight as he tapped into his invisibility.

Jack stared at the spot he last saw Danny. He shook his head and jumped into the air. He didn't understand. He'd been reluctant to start with. But Danny seemed angry about something. Jack hadn't wanted the responsibility. But Danny… it seemed like it was something bigger. Jack glanced up at the moon.

"Now what? He won't come," Jack asked the moon. Jack returned to the North Pole. The others had gone back to their jobs, Bunny had gone to search for good hiding places for the next Easter Sunday. Jack dodged yetis lugging large building materials or elves scurrying around with pilfered fruit cake as he made his way through the workshop. Jack knocked loudly on North's workroom door and opened the door.

North grabbed an ice sculpture of a rabbit plush toy before it hopped out of the room.

"Jack! Did you bring Danny? We were starting to get worried," North boomed happily. Jack shook his head.

"No, he wouldn't come. Said that he didn't answer to higher powers or work well with others. I have a feeling that Bunny's going to get his way North," Jack informed him. North frowned.

"Perhaps he just needs time. You didn't like being a guardian to start with," North pointed out. Jack shook his head.

"Maybe, but it felt like it was more than not wanting to be guardian. I dunno North. If we knew why Manny wanted Danny as a guardian then maybe we could explain everything and convince him," Jack replied.

"Just give him time Jack. I'm sure he'll come around," North retorted confidently. Jack smirked at the immense man before excusing himself.

 **So, Danny does have a back story to deal with. But you guys aren't going to learn it all until the guardians do…**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

Jack was visiting Burgess again. It had been months since he'd spoken with Jamie Bennett, Jack's first and oldest believer. His friends still believed but they weren't as dedicated any longer. Jamie was different. Jack saw Jamie walking home from school with a girl with long light brown hair and brown eyes. Jack smiled at the sight. Jamie was growing up. He was fifteen after all. Jack kept his distance. The two teenagers walked into the Bennett house. Jack slipped in through an open window but kept out of sight. Since Jamie believed in him, he could see Jack, so he had to be careful. Jack stepped over Abby the greyhound careful to avoid waking the sleeping dog.

Jamie and the girl went up to his room and Jack smirked. He turned as he heard the front door slam shut and Sophie came in. She brushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes and dropped her bag on the ground before looking up. She, like her brother, was a believer.

"Jack! What are you doing here?" Sophie exclaimed happily and ran forward, giving him a big hug. Jack chuckled and crouched down to her level.

"Hey Soph, just visiting. Haven't been around much lately. How are you?" Jack greeted the seven year old, nearly eight. Sophie grinned.

"Great! Look! My tooth's loose," Sophie answered and wiggled her front tooth. Jack smiled.

"Well, I'll give Tooth a heads up for when it comes out," Jack promised her kindly. Sophie nodded happily.

"Do you want me to get Jamie? He's probably in his room already," Sophie offered.

"Nah, he has a girl up there. I wouldn't want to intrude," Jack decided. Sophie giggled.

"Oh it's just his friend Diana. She's having a sleepover. Come on, I'll introduce you!" Sophie explained and grabbed Jack's hand before he could react and dragged him upstairs.

"Sophie! Sophie," Jack called, too busy laughing to sound angry or serious.

Sophie only dropped Jack's hand once they were standing in front of Jamie's closed door. Sophie knocked loudly.

"Jamie!" she shouted.

"Go away Soph! Bad time!" Jamie yelled back. Sophie frowned and looked up at Jack. He bent down to her.

"It's fine Sophie. Why don't we play in your room or in the back yard," Jack suggested. Sophie smiled and gave him a nod before running downstairs. Jack chuckled at the girl but before he could follow her, he accidently overheard Jamie.

"It's alright Di. You can tell me. What are you afraid of?" Jamie encouraged. Jack scowled. He leant against the door.

"It's just…" a girl began.

"It's alright Diana. You chose him right? You can trust him," Jack heard a third voice urge. Jack gasped. That was Danny!

"It's just… you can't tell anyone alright," Diana attempted again.

"Diana, if you don't tell him, he can't help you," Danny told her.

Jack shook his head. This didn't make sense. Jack acted without thinking. Using a cold winter wind, he threw open the door. The girl, Diana screamed and Jack glared at Danny. Danny was crouched beside Diana who was sitting under the window on the floor. Leaning against his bed, Jamie was also sitting on the floor. Danny looked up and gave Jack a furious scowl.

"Jack!" Jamie exclaimed. Danny got to his feet.

"You're starting to annoy me Frost!" Danny growled.

"You're scaring that girl aren't you?" Jack accused. Danny gritted his teeth angrily.

"Jack, who are you talking to?" Jamie asked, glancing confused at the window Jack appeared to be looking through.

"Danny, Spirit of Fear. He's scaring your friend," Jack explained. Jamie's eyes widened he looked at Diana, who was trembling beside Danny. Jamie got to his feet and held a hand out to her.

"Di, let's go outside for a bit. My room gets really dark this time of day. We can start our homework and you can try telling me what you wanted to say later, alright?" Jamie suggested. Diana looked up at Jamie and she took his hand. She grabbed her bag and shuffled out of the room with Jamie. Jack waited for the two teens to leave.

"Why are you scaring her? Why did you frighten that boy earlier?" Jack demanded, recalling the boy Danny had frightened by kicking the tin can. Danny shook his head and stepped closer to Jack.

"You don't understand me Jack. No one does. There's no point in answering you. So stop following me!" Danny growled. Jack blinked in surprise.

"Then explain yourself. I might know more than you think. And I wasn't following you, Jamie believes in me and we're good friends. I visit the Bennetts regularly. I was actually trying to give you some space to take in that you're a guardian," Jack retorted. Danny took a step back and shook his head.

"Get this through your frozen head! I am not a guardian! I do not listen to higher powers. Leave me alone!" Danny shouted angrily. Jack frowned offended.

"Frozen head? I think that was uncalled for. My head isn't frozen," Jack snapped.

"You want me to change that! You're not the only one with ice powers," Danny snarled. Jack stepped back from Danny, cursing himself for the flicker of fear he felt. Danny shook his head.

"Fine, I'm going," Danny grumbled and turned himself intangible and jumped through the window.

Jack stood frozen by shock and a little fear. He'd never been threatened like that before. Jack couldn't help but feel that Danny would have followed through too if Jack had gone after him. Jack shook his head and breathed a calming sigh before venturing downstairs. He was going to make sure that Jamie and Diana were safe from the Spirit of Fear. Even if that meant fighting Danny. He'd fought Pitch, king of nightmares, how much worse can the Spirit of Fear be?

He walked into the kitchen and saw Jamie and Diana playing with Sophie in the back yard. Jack smiled happily and sat down on the back porch watching the three children. He set down his staff and began to ponder the things he'd overheard Danny saying to Diana. The things he said hadn't sounded frightening, in fact they had seemed encouraging. Maybe Danny was more frightening when he touched Diana's shoulder and it wasn't the words but the feelings behind them. Pitch had sounded so convincing at the South Pole when Jack had messed up and ran away to be alone. The only thing stopping Jack trusting the boogieman had been the memory of how he destroyed Sandy.

 **So, Danny and Jack have a second clash. This is mainly because Danny's dealing with his problems… badly, and Jack is frightened of the Spirit of Fear. So let me know what you guys think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

Danny marched angrily down a quiet street at night somewhere in Europe. He had had it with Jack Frost. He was not going to be controlled again. Not after what happened. He was done obeying higher powers. He stopped and glared at the moon.

"You want me as a guardian?! I refuse! You don't control me!" Danny shouted furiously at the moon.

"I agree. Who wants to be a guardian?" a silky smooth voice echoed through the abandoned road. Danny turned to the voice and scowled as Pitch Black glided towards him through the shadows. His body disappearing in the shadows making only his face and hands visible.

"What do you want Pitch?" Danny demanded.

"My my, we are angry. I only want to be friends," Pitch retorted. Danny glared at him. He reminded him a little too much of Vlad.

"Cut to the chase. As you can see, I'm not in the mood for games," Danny growled. Pitched grinned a toothily grin.

"Very well. I propose we team up. Together we can spread fear and get rid of those guardians too," Pitch suggested. Danny scoffed.

"No deal," Danny answered. Pitch blinked in surprise.

"But you're the Spirit of Fear. Don't you want to be seen? To be believed in?" Pitch inquired. Danny shook his head.

"I don't work that way Pitch. For the guardians, they need to be believed in. I can only be seen by those ready to face me, ready to face their fears. You obviously don't understand me if you think that this deal would be something I'd want," Danny explained, the rules were different for beings like the guardians or Pitch, they could see him no matter what. Pitch scowled. Danny turned to leave.

"I understand you better than those guardians, Danny. I know what you're powers do. And I know that you care about those children," Pitch called, bringing Danny back into the conversation.

"Danny, together we can get what we want. I want to be seen and you want to help children overcome their fears. We're the perfect match. We would be unstoppable," Pitch offered. Danny stepped closer to Pitch and glared at the king of nightmares fearlessly with his eerily mismatched eyes.

"Let me make this clear. I'm not interested. I'm not going to take orders from you, the guardians or the Man in the Moon. I work alone. And I work for myself," Danny explained in a dangerously calm and soft voice. Pitch took a small step back and smiled nervously at the teen.

"I understand. But perhaps I could convince you to take a break from your duties. Just a few days, until after Hallowe'en," Pitch suggested. Danny's scowl deepened suspiciously.

"Why would I take a break?" Danny inquired. Pitch smiled.

"Because you're powers will interfere with my plans," Pitch answered. Danny shook his head.

"You're not very convincing Pitch. I think you need lessons in negotiating," Danny remarked. Danny turned to leave again.

"I wasn't finished. You know how powerful fear can be Danny. Fear can paralyze people, scar them for life, even kill," Pitch called. Danny stopped dead in his tracks.

"I know you care for those children Danny. I've seen which ones you've taken an interest in. Ones who are already scarred by fear. Diana, Stephen, Lola… need I go on?" Pitch informed him. Danny slowly turned to face Pitch. Both eyes glowing angrily. Pitch grinned.

"Do I detect a flicker of fear from the Spirit of Fear?" Pitch mocked. Danny set his jaw.

"What do you want Pitch?" Danny managed to demand. Pitch smiled.

"I want you to take a break from your duties for the next few days. You can come back after Hallowe'en. If you refuse, or you return early. I will plague those children you've taken a liking to," Pitch decided. Danny clenched his hands into fists.

"Why do you want me out of the way?" Danny asked. Pitch nodded.

"I suppose as long as you keep your end of the deal, you can hear my plan. I think you'll find it intriguing. I tried to get rid of the guardians six years ago. But I was thwarted by children! So this time, I'm not attacking the guardians directly. I'm going to use my fear to extinguish all hope, wonder and dreams. Then I can finally get what I want," Pitch revealed vaguely.

"How?" Danny prompted. Pitch waggled a finger at him.

"Ah ah ah, I'm not telling you the details. So do we have a deal?" Pitch replied and held out a hand. Danny stared at the hand.

"One condition. If I find out a single child has been harmed because I wasn't there, I'm no longer bound by your deal. One child gets hurt, and I'm coming back," Danny announced. Pitch nodded.

"Very well, don't hurt children. Noted. Now do we have a deal?" Pitch agreed.

Danny took a deep breath and took Pitch's hand. Danny could feel the waves of fear flowing through Pitch's being. Certainly enough to frighten a child to death. Danny wasn't affected as much as another person would be because of who he was. He pulled Pitch closer.

"If you go back on your word Pitch, you'll learn why the name Danny Phantom was feared throughout the Ghost Zone. Understood?" Danny hissed. Pitch laughed.

"Understood. But I'm not dealing with any Phantoms. I'm dealing with a Spirit of Fear that no one can see," Pitch replied, not seeing the true threat lying in Danny's words. Danny dropped Pitch's hand and took a step backwards.

"Guess I'm taking the rest of the week off. If you need me, I'll be somewhere cold and isolated," Danny announced and vanished in a puff of green mist. Pitch looked up at the moon.

"Nice try. But you can't stop me this time old friend," Pitch informed the moon, smiling triumphantly before sinking into the shadows.

 **And we have the reason why a new guardian is needed. So, no one has put two and two together about who Danny used to be. That will be explained later on.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Jack had guarded Jamie's house all night but Danny didn't return. Jack watched Jamie, Sophie and Diana walk to school together. Sophie had tried to convince Diana that Jack Frost was real but Jack didn't blame Diana. She was at an age where children lost their childhood beliefs. Also having a seven year old explaining everything wasn't very convincing. Jamie had been too scared of how he would look to help his sister explain. He gave Sophie one last wave as she turned the corner. Jack chuckled at the young girl.

Jack sighed as he dropped his hand to his side.

"Now what to do? I could go freeze over a few lakes in Russia or I could go find Danny?" Jack wondered aloud. He looked up.

"Or, I could go the North Pole and see what's wrong," Jack concluded as he saw the northern lights. He shot up into the air and quickly arrived at the North Pole.

"Did something happen?" Jack asked as he landed in a run.

"Jack! Did you find Danny?" Tooth inquired and fluttered over to him with a number of her tooth fairies, Baby Tooth was one of them.

"Oh, hey Baby Tooth, Tooth. Yeah I found him, but he refused to come," Jack answered.

"The sack wasn't such a bad idea then," Bunny grumbled as he warmed his paws by the fire. Jack scowled at the oversized rabbit. Sandy signed a load of shapes above his head. Jack nodded.

"I told him that he was a guardian Sandy. He said he doesn't obey the Man in the Moon, or the guardians," Jack answered. Bunny straightened and frowned.

"What? He thinks he's better than us all of a sudden then?" Bunny growled. Jack shrugged.

"He said he doesn't play well with others whatever that means," Jack recalled. North marched into the room.

"Guardians, we have a problem. Pitch is on the move," North informed them. The room erupted in shouts of concern.

"One at a time!" North roared after trying to get in the order five times.

"How do you know?" Bunny demanded quickly. North seemed to deflate.

"Turn the globe," he ordered his yetis. They garbled something to him and pressed a few buttons on the console. The globe slowly rotated and the guardians stared in horror at how dark the other half of the globe was.

"He's targeting children this time. Somehow he's destroying their belief. We must stop him," North explained. Bunny edged forward.

"Those lights. They were all lit yesterday right?" Bunny whispered. North nodded.

"At that rate, Pitch might destroy every child's belief before Hallowe'en!" Bunny gasped.

"I'll send my girls out. We'll search for clues as to what he's done," Tooth offered. North nodded.

"I have a couple of months before Christmas. I can spare some of my yetis. I would let my elves go but you know," North suggested and motioned to an elf watching them, picking its nose with a silly grin on its face. The guardians scowled with disgust before giving quick agreement that the elves shouldn't be sent out.

"Meanwhile, I'll look for Pitch. Sandy, North, Frost. You're coming with me right?" Bunny announced. North nodded sternly and shouted for his yetis to ready the sleigh and get his swords. Bunny shuddered.

"Man, I hate flying," he muttered to himself. Jack scowled with thought.

"Actually Bunny, I'm going to look for Danny," Jack decided.

"What!? We're trying to stop Pitch, not help him!" Bunny retorted sharply. Jack nodded.

"I know that cottontail! Manny obviously wanted to make Danny a guardian for a reason. He made me a guardian when Pitch attacked last time. Maybe Manny knew this would happen and wanted us to be prepared. Besides, we might need the Spirit of Fear to find Pitch. Danny told me he could sense fear. Maybe he can use that to find Pitch," Jack replied. Tooth, Sandy and Bunny stared at Jack, North had gone to get his coat.

"And what if Danny is helping Pitch?" Bunny inquired.

"Then we'll be able to find Pitch and stop him. But I really don't think that will happen. Danny was furious when I brought Pitch up," Jack recalled.

Bunny looked ready to continue the argument but Tooth got in between them.

"Jack, I trust your judgement but be careful. Don't make this a repeat of what happened before. For all we know, we might be walking straight into Pitch's trap. Don't go anywhere suspicious and don't take on Pitch alone," Tooth decided. Jack nodded.

"Will do," Jack agreed and before Bunny could stop him, Jack jumped into the air and flew out of the workshop. Bunny scowled at Tooth.

"If he gets killed, it's on your head. You don't mess with Pitch. And Danny is the same," Bunny growled before tapping the ground and jumping into his warren. Sandy glanced at Tooth and gave her a worried expression.

"I'm sure Jack knows what he's doing. Besides, he was able to fight off Pitch before single-handedly. You weren't there but it was impressive," Tooth assured him.

North returned in his big red coat and swords strapped over his shoulders.

"The sleigh's ready. Where's Bunny and Jack?" North asked. Tooth smiled.

"Bunny's using his tunnels and Jack decided to find Danny instead. I better get back to the Tooth Palace and send out my girls. Good luck guys," Tooth explained and flew out of the window with her fairies close behind. North shrugged. Sandy smiled at North as the large man pushed his way through the yetis and elves to get into his sleigh. Sandy ran after him, feeling bad that North was alone. North loved to show off his sleigh.

 **And the plan begins. So yeah, not much to say, except, let me know what you guys think of the story so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

It took Jack an entire day, but while he was flying over a snowy mountain range, far away from any civilisation he spotted a black jacket from above. He dropped quickly to the ground and landed gently on the snowy mountain top. Jack noticed an ice sculpture that had been shattered into a million pieces.

"Go away Frost!" Danny shouted over the chilling wind without looking over his shoulder. He was sitting on the edge of a steep cliff, gazing at the blizzard sweeping through the valleys and other mountain tops around him. Jack frowned.

"How did you know it was me?" Jack called.

"You're the only one who keeps looking for me," Danny answered. Jack crept cautiously forward.

"And I can feel you're nervous," Danny added. Jack bit his lip and ignored his concerns and sat down beside Danny.

"Why are you here? In the middle of nowhere?" Jack inquired. Danny glanced at him.

"I'm on vacation. Not great in hot places so I came to somewhere cold," Danny answered stiffly. Jack scowled.

"But you were hanging around Diana. Don't you want to finish what you started?" Jack ventured.

"By which you mean?" Danny prompted. Jack huffed in annoyance.

"Does it matter? I may not know you or understand you or whatever, but this doesn't seem like you," Jack replied loudly. Danny glanced at Jack and shook his head.

"You wouldn't understand Jack. Now tell me what you want this time or get lost," Danny retorted. Jack scowled angrily at the other teen and took a deep calming breath.

"Alright, fine. The guardians need your help. Pitch is stopping children from believing," Jack began. Danny lifted a hand to silence Jack.

"And let me guess, because I'm the Spirit of Fear you think I can track down the boogieman. Sorry Jack, not how my powers work. Now leave me alone. I'm on vacation. Taking Hallowe'en off," Danny interrupted and got up and walked away. Jack stared at Danny's receding back incredulously. Jack got to his feet and turned to the destroyed ice sculpture. He crept over to it, nervous that Danny would be watching and get angry. Jack bent down and saw an intact face grinning maliciously. He had narrowed eyes and pointed fangs. Jack frowned and slowly pieced together an adult man standing cockily with a long cloak and pointed hair. Jack had never seen anything like it. Jack scanned the white surroundings hoping to spot a speck of black and blue but Danny was gone.

Jack frowned to himself. He should really keep searching for Pitch or Danny. But Jack didn't understand what Danny's problem was. One minute he was angry that the guardians wanted his help then he was explaining that he couldn't help them even if he wanted to. Jack felt that there was a lot more to Danny than the title Spirit of Fear, but Jack didn't know how to see past it. He jumped into the air and decided to return to the North Pole. Maybe the others had better luck than him. They only had three days until Hallowe'en now.

Danny watched Jack go and blinked back into the visible spectrum. He sighed sadly and walked over to the reconstructed statue of Vlad Plasmius. Danny frowned at the man and charged his right fist with green energy and broke the statue into even smaller pieces.

"Sometimes there's nothing better than misplaced aggression," Danny muttered to himself with a small smirk. He returned to his place looking over the snowy valleys. The mountains reminded him of the Far Frozen. A place he couldn't even visit easily now that he was the Spirit of Fear. And even if he did get there it wasn't the same now that Frostbite couldn't see him. He looked up to where the moon would be watching him silent as ever.

"You're worse than Clockwork. You know that. At least Clockwork would tell me when he was ignoring me or not going to give me my answers," Danny grumbled.

Danny lifted his left hand up and created a small ice sculpture of his old family and friends. He smiled nostalgically at the figures. He hadn't been back to Amity Park in at least three years. He'd gone back a few times to check on how his family and friends were, to see how they were dealing with his death. It was about the time that Sam starting dating other guys that Danny stopped visiting, unable to see his still living girlfriend kissing another guy. It was worse than when Sam went out with Gregor, or Elliot or whatever his name was. This time he knew Sam's feelings towards him are or at least were mutual. Tucker and Jazz had gone to college and his parents searched constantly for a full ghost son they'd never find. Danny was dead and they'd never see him again. And he couldn't even tell them that so they lived on, searching and hoping. It was nearly worse than seeing his friends moving on with their lives.

Danny sighed and dropped the ice sculpture off the cliff. His old life was gone. It was a weird feeling. He was mourning their loss except they were all fine. In a sense he was mourning his own death still. He didn't blame the Man in the Moon. Not really. It was his own stupid fault that he got himself killed. He always had to play the hero and he fell for Vlad's trap. At least the fruit loop got arrested for murder after Danny's secret came out as he died.

Now he was in a similar position. Pitch was going to serious hurt, even kill, children who had been through enough. Diana, trapped with an alcoholic abusive mother. Lola, chronic anxiety attacks triggered due to brutal bullying a year ago. Stephen, well he had more phobias than Danny could name which was a lot. Danny had taken to finding the worst cases of fear and staying with those children until they got better or plucked up enough courage to ask for help. He'd helped a lot of kids over the last four years. Children trapped in unhealthy home environments to kids being bullied constantly to preteens showing signs of social anxiety. He decided that he would work with any child under seventeen, or eighteen in extreme cases, no matter what.

It made being unseen worthwhile. Seeing kids coming out of their shells and becoming the confident, happy people they were meant to be. Danny smiled as he recalled the numerous children he'd helped to stop trembling in fear, even managed a few smiles along the way. No child ever saw him but as long as they got help or support, Danny knew that those children wouldn't need to face their fears. Hope, wonder, dreams. They were powerful things, far more powerful than he felt the guardians understood. But fear was powerful too. Enough fear and children stopped feeling those kinds of things. They forgot the joy of Christmas, Easter or getting money for their baby teeth. They shied away from fun and feared making friends. Danny would work with children until they could feel those feelings again.

Danny may be the Spirit of Fear, but that wasn't what he protected. He protected bravery. The bravery to be afraid but to face those fears anyway and doing what they had to do. Ignoring the fear of being rejected and asking the classmate they had a crush on out to a school dance. Ignoring the fear of ridicule and reaching out to the strange kid in the corner. Being brave enough to be who they wanted to be. That was how Danny tried to live after the accident and that was how he died. He knew that was the reason the Man in the Moon created him. But Danny had been used one too many times to allow himself to get close to others. He wasn't frightened of them, he was just angry. So angry he just had to destroy ice statues of his old enemies and on special occasions, Vlad.

 **We learn a little about why Danny is the way he is. Like I said at the beginning. This is a story of how Danny learns to cope with his family's loss.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Jack landed in Jamie's back yard. He'd been searching for Pitch nonstop since talking with Danny two days ago. The globe in North's workshop was getting darker. So many lights had gone out. Hallowe'en was the next day. It was four in the afternoon. It was starting to get dark but Jack needed to warn Jamie. Jamie had been the last believer when Pitch attacked six years ago. It was possible that Pitch would go after Jamie soon. The guardians didn't know what Pitch was doing to the children. He never left a trace behind him and if they even caught a glimpse of him, he'd disappear into the shadows, chuckling at them.

Jack jumped up to Jamie's bedroom window and glanced inside. Jamie looked sad as he packed a few books into his backpack. Jack scowled in confusion. He knocked on the window. Jamie looked up and smiled at his immortal friend.

"Jack! Hey, what's up?" Jamie greeted him as he opened the window. Jack smiled warmly at his first believer.

"Just checking in on you. Is something wrong?" Jack replied, nodding to the school bag Jamie had been packing. Jamie sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, Diana's in the hospital. I'm going to visit her and bring her homework," Jamie revealed. Jack's eyes widened.

"What?! How?" Jack exclaimed. Jamie shook his head and sat down on his bed.

"Turns out her mom is an alcoholic. Last night, Diana went home and this morning she came into school. She was acting weird. She looked sick too, really pale. She fainted in class. Turned out that Diana had lost a lot of blood from a wound in her side which reopened in school. She was taken to hospital and the doctors think she was hit by a glass bottle or something. I wish she had told me. I knew that there was something wrong but she wouldn't tell me what," Jamie explained softly.

Jack gasped as he recalled what Danny had said to Diana.

"If you don't tell him, he can't help you," Jack whispered in remembrance. Jamie frowned.

"What?" Jamie retorted confused. Jack turned to Jamie and shook his head.

"I was so wrong about Danny. I thought he was scaring Diana. He was trying to help her! I've got to find him," Jack replied. Jack walked to the window.

"Wait Jack! What are you talking about?" Jamie called as he got to his feet. Jack turned back to Jamie.

"Danny has been chosen to be a guardian. Danny the Spirit of Fear. We all didn't think it was a good idea because we all thought that he frightened kids. But I don't think that's right. I think he helps frightened children. When he was here the other day, he was trying to encourage Diana to open up to you. Since I didn't know about Diana's mom, I thought Danny was making her scared. Pitch is back and stopping children from believing. I've been trying to convince Danny to help. Now I think I know of a way to convince him," Jack explained.

"Wait! Pitch is back! Is that why you're here?" Jamie realised. Jack smiled awkwardly and nodded.

"I wanted to warn you. Pitch isn't attacking the guardians this time. He's doing something to kids to stop them believing. I wanted to warn you since the last time you were key to stopping him," Jack admitted. Jamie's eyes widened.

"Could he go after my friends or Sophie?" Jamie whispered. Jack smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry Jamie. I don't want to frighten you but he is going after kids and we don't know how, why or even where he'll strike next. But we estimate he'll get all the lights to go out by Hallowe'en. So just be careful Jamie. Stay away from dark places and don't go out at night alone," Jack warned. Jamie nodded slowly, stunned by the information.

Jack placed a comforting hand on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie was almost as tall as Jack nowadays.

"Jamie, the guardians are on it. We will protect you and we will stop Pitch. Now I have to go and talk to Danny. You going to be alright by yourself?" Jack assured him. Jamie bit his lip and took a deep breath. He nodded bravely and gave Jack a small smile. Jack smiled reassuringly before somersaulting out of the window and flew up into the sky, heading towards anywhere cold.

Jamie watched the Spirit of winter, guardian of fun, fly out of sight before returning to his bag. He was going to go and visit Diana. His friend needed him. He pulled out his phone and quickly texted his friends that knew about Pitch Black and the guardians warning them of what was happening. Jamie shrugged his bag onto his shoulder and grabbed some money to buy something to eat at the hospital. He walked out of his room, down the stairs, shouted to his mother where he was going and out the front door. News of what had happened to Diana had spread like wildfire through the school and then the parents. Diana was going to be the centre of attention for a while now. But Jamie was going to be there for her. Especially if Pitch was out there. Diana had been through enough. Jamie glanced over his shoulder, watching any shadows for any sign of the boogieman. He tried to ignore it, but the fact that Pitch was back and the guardians couldn't stop him. It scared Jamie.

 **And finally the penny drops. Jack's figured out what drives Danny. Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

Jack flew through the air. He'd checked a number of mountain ranges, the South Pole and so on. Jack decided to check the mountain he'd last seen Danny on. He had at first thought that Danny wouldn't be there but as he got closer he saw the black hair, black jacket and blue jeans of the Spirit of Fear through the blinding whiteness of the mountain range. He landed behind Danny. Jack sat next to Danny and waited for the other teen to notice him. Danny tore his gaze from the horizon and glanced at Jack. He smirked before turning back to the view.

"I see that you're not afraid of me now," he commented. Jack nodded.

"I think I understand what you do now. You don't scare kids, you help them get over their fears, don't you?" Jack announced. Danny blinked in surprise and turned to Jack. Danny smiled and nodded.

"In one Jack," Danny confirmed. Jack smirked.

He recalled the little boy Danny had frightened a few nights ago.

"So that boy you scared by kicking the can. How was that helping him?" Jack ventured. Danny glanced at Jack and sighed.

"That would be Stephen. Been working with him for a long time now. The kid's afraid of everything. I thought I'd helped him get over his fears of the dark. But obviously I haven't, not yet, at least," Danny explained. Jack nodded slowly.

"I only scare kids if they deserve it Jack. I do scare bullies. I've even frightened a few adults asking for it. But I don't scare anyone without a reason first," Danny added.

"So why are you out here? I know you said you're on vacation but that's not it is it?" Jack asked. Danny shook his head.

"I'm here because Pitch told me to stay out of his way," Danny revealed. Jack scowled with confusion.

"But I thought you don't work with others," Jack pointed out. Danny glared angrily at Jack, his blue and green eyes flashing brightly.

"I don't have a choice right now. Pitch gave me a deal I couldn't refuse," Danny growled. Jack blinked in surprise.

"He threatened you," Jack realised. Danny's anger melted away and he nodded.

"Yeah, guess you could say that," Danny replied. Jack got to his feet.

"The guardians can protect you. But we need your help to get Pitch. He's making kids stop believing. We have to stop him and we can't do that without you," Jack offered. Danny shook his head.

"You don't understand. I can't get involved. That's the deal me and Pitch made," Danny retorted.

Jack crouched down beside Danny. He wasn't giving up.

"I'm curious though. How did you find out what I do? Because you don't fear me at all, which means you weren't told. You figured it out," Danny interjected before Jack could resume his badly planned pep-talk.

"Oh, I went to warn Jamie about Pitch and he told me that Diana is in hospital. It came out that her mom beat her," Jack answered. Danny stiffened.

"In the hospital! What happened?!" Danny exclaimed, twisting to face Jack. His eyes burning brightly with concern. Jack leant back in surprise, stunned by the change in Danny. A second ago Danny was closed off but now he was clearly worried. It was a side of Danny Jack hadn't seen before.

"It happened last night according to Jamie. She went home and she passed out the next day at school from blood loss. They think she got hurt when her mother threw a bottle at her or something. Jamie didn't know the details," Jack recalled. Danny scrambled to his feet. Jack accidently fell to the ground as he shuffled out of the way. Danny stomped away from the cliff edge. He glanced at the remains of a shattered ice statue and growled angrily under his breath.

"A promise is a promise," he snarled.

"Wait, what?! What are you doing?" Jack called and struggled to his feet. Danny turned to Jack.

"I've told you and Pitch that I don't listen to higher powers. I told Pitch if I found out that a single child was harmed because I wasn't there, he'd find out why the name Danny Phantom was feared throughout the Ghost Zone. I follow through with my threats," Danny answered before vanishing in a puff of green smoke. Jack blinked with shock at the spot Danny had been moments ago. Did that mean Danny was going to help the guardians now or was he going to get this Danny Phantom to help them? Either way, Jack couldn't help the small smirk of triumph. Finally, the Spirit of Fear was in play in this battle.

 **And Pitch's deal is broken. So, not much else to say…**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

Danny teleported to Burgess. He had retained his ghost powers after he became the Spirit of Fear. Something he was grateful for. His spirit powers of being able to sense fear and talk telepathically with kids he touched wouldn't be any help if he couldn't get around. Since dying he'd learnt how to teleport and Danny loved the ability to vanish from sight and reappear somewhere else instantly. He only did it when he had to travel long distances though. It often gave him a light head. For short distances, he just flew. He jumped into the air and flew up high above the town and swept his gaze over the dark town illuminated by street lights. He smiled as he spotted the hospital. Lit up like a Christmas tree.

Danny shot off through the night sky, faster than a bullet. He phased through the front door and landed in the reception. He walked over to the front desk and phased behind it. He glanced at a number of files and noticed Diana's name. He carefully pushed the file on top of Diana's to one side and flipped it open when no one was watching. He scanned the page and memorised the room number and ward the girl was in. He flipped the file closed and stepped over to a map on the wall. He swept his gaze over it and found the floor Diana's ward was on.

Danny jumped up into the air and phased through the floors above him and quickly found Diana's room. He noticed Jamie sitting in a chair in the corner, working through a page of homework. Danny smiled at the boy. He was a good friend. Diana was asleep, probably sedated Danny guessed. He felt a wave of fear from Diana and he felt a little around Jamie too. Danny crouched down in front of Jamie. The boy was Danny's height when standing, but he was sitting so Danny had to crouch to face the boy. Danny placed a gentle hand on Jamie's shoulder.

"Jamie, I can feel your fear, what's wrong?" Danny muttered.

"What if Diana doesn't get better? What if Pitch attacks and the guardians can't stop him? What if Pitch attacks my little sister while I'm here?" Jamie confided in him telepathically. Danny blinked in surprise before giving Jamie a reassuring smile, despite the boy not seeing him.

"Jamie, Diana will get better. She's going to get the help she needs and deserves. How could she not? You're a great friend for her. And secondly, Pitch will be stopped. I promise you that. It may not sound much, but he's not getting away with this," Danny assured him. Jamie glanced up from his work at Diana and gave a small smile.

"Don't worry Di, I'm here for you no matter what. You'll be fine. I know it," Jamie whispered to the sleeping girl.

Danny nodded approvingly and removed his hand and turned to Diana. He sat down beside the injured girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Diana, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you last night. Tell me what happened," Danny apologised.

"I had to go home after school. I didn't feel brave enough to ask Jamie for bus money so I was late again. My mom got really angry. She started to shout at me for being late. I told her that I didn't have any money for the bus and she got angrier," Diana began telepathically. As the girl recalled the incident, fear began to radiate off her. Her relaxed features had contorted into a terrified expression. Jamie looked over and noticed the change in his friend.

"It's alright Diana. Keep going," Danny prompted. Diana nodded slightly.

"She told me to get her another bottle of vodka for her but there were none left. She threw the bottle in her hand at me. It broke and sliced up my side. I ran. I tried to fix it by myself but I don't know first aid. I hid in my room all night. Mom tried to apologise later and offered to order pizza or something but… but I was too scared to answer her. Then at school, I passed out for some reason. I woke up in hospital a few hours ago but the doctors told me that they were going to sedate me until tomorrow. I think it's so I don't freak out or something," Diana continued telepathically. Danny nodded.

"But you're still afraid. Tell me why so I can help," Danny urged.

Diana took a deep frightened breath. Jamie got up from his seat.

"Di, are you awake? Is something wrong?" Jamie questioned. Danny glanced at the boy.

"My mom is in trouble isn't she? It was my fault she got so angry. They're going to separate us. I don't want to be alone! Mom is going to be angry at me," Diana began to panic telepathically and her breathing reflected her panic. Danny squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Diana, listen to me. You are not alone. Jamie is here right now. He cares about you and he's not going to leave you. And you don't know if your mother is in so much trouble that you have to be removed from her care. She may just legally have to get help for her drinking problem. And most importantly, you are not to blame. Your mother should never have put you in such a situation. You are going to get the help you need and support. Everything is going to be alright," Danny quickly told her. Diana nodded slightly and her breathing returned to normal.

"Also, I'm going to help you through this as much as I can," Danny added. Diana smiled slightly. Danny smiled with relief. He released the girl's shoulder and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Danny stood up and watched for any signs of worry or fear but there were none. Diana had calmed down and no longer radiated terror. At least she wasn't yet. Danny knew that the fear would return once she woke up the next day and had to face doctors asking questions. Suddenly the hospital room darkened. Jamie cried out in surprise. Danny turned around as he felt a presence of fear as Pitch emerged from a shadow. Jamie's fear sky rocketed. Danny glanced at the boy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Pitch demanded in a furious but quiet voice. Danny scowled.

"I told you. If a single child got hurt, I'd be back and I'd make you pay," Danny reminded him. Pitch snarled at him. Jamie backed away into his chair and stared in confusion as Pitch Black had a one sided conversation with no one.

"What are you talking about?" Pitch growled.

"Diana got hurt because I wasn't here. So the deal is off," Danny pointed out. Pitch shook his head.

"Not that. You said that Danny Phantom was feared in the Ghost Zone, not you. I was under the impression that you were pacifist," Pitch recalled. Danny glared at Pitch.

"Pacifist. That's a joke right?" Danny retorted. Pitch glowered at him.

Jamie pressed back into his seat fearfully. Pitch made a show of smelling the air.

"You feel that too, yes? Delectable fear," Pitch grinned and turned to Jamie. Jamie whimpered. Danny quickly stepped in the way.

"You come any closer Pitch, you'll regret it. Believe me," Danny warned. Pitch laughed.

"Out of my way," Pitch growled and stepped forward. Danny charged his right fist with green energy and blasted Pitch backwards. Jamie stared in shock. There was someone in the room he realised. And they were protecting him from Pitch!

"How? What?" Pitch spluttered. Danny smirked cockily.

"This is going to be a lot better than statues," he commented and lunged at Pitch and phased him out of the building.

 **So, the magical beings are going to have to figure out who Danny was, especially Pitch if they want to keep up. But let me know what you guys think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

Jack was flying through the night air, back looking for signs of Pitch or perhaps Danny. He frowned as he caught sight of flash of silvery green flying towards him. He stopped as he realised it was one of Tooth's tooth fairies.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jack greeted with concern. The fairy chirped and twitted at him but Jack's experience talking with Baby Tooth made it easy for him to understand. The fairy was informing him that Pitch was spotted in Burgess. Jack didn't wait for the rest of the message and dropped through the sky to the ground and zooming over the forests below to get to Burgess. He may have promised not to go after Pitch alone, but he wasn't going to ignore the boogieman when Jamie might be in danger.

He sped through the town towards the hospital without thinking. It was the darkest part of Burgess. Jack spotted Jamie running out the front door, looking frightened but unharmed.

"Jamie!" Jack yelled. Jamie looked at him and smiled.

"Jack! Pitch is over there," Jamie informed him and pointed to a quiet section of the car park.

Jack gasped as he saw what Pitch was doing. Danny was fighting him. His fists glowed with blue and green light and he blasted the boogieman with bolts of energy. He thrust his left hand forward and fired a blue jet of energy at Pitch. Pitch dodged it and the ground behind him froze. Danny punched his right arm forward and fired a bolt of green energy at the boogieman and hit Pitch in the chest. Pitch fell to the ground. Danny stepped forward and pulled Pitch up into his face.

"Whatever you're doing, it stops now!" Danny snarled. Pitch nodded. But before Danny could react some of Pitch's nightmare sand erupted from a shadow behind him and threw him off his feet into a car. The car's alarm blared and Pitch sank into the shadow.

"Danny!" Jack exclaimed with concern and ran forward to the dazed immortal teen. Jamie frowned in confusion but followed Jack. Jack held out a hand to help Danny to his feet. Danny waved him away.

"I'm fine Jack. Been hit harder by the Box Ghost. Just caught me off guard," Danny assured him. Jack straightened.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked. Danny leant against the car and scowled at it. He turned his arm intangible and unlocked the car from the inside, the alarm stopped.

"That's better," Danny grumbled. Jamie started.

"How… How did that happen?" Jamie gasped. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe you should take that question Jack. I have to go after Pitch," Danny recommended and locked the car again and stepped away.

"Wait, you said your powers can't track Pitch," Jack reminded him. Danny turned and gave him a small smile.

"I don't need my powers Jack. All I need is to think about this. I've got a lot of experience dealing with guys like Pitch. Calm him down. He's freaking out right now," Danny replied and nodded to Jamie. Before Jack could say another word Danny vanished in a puff of green mist.

"I wish he'd stop doing that!" Jack complained.

Jack turned to Jamie and smiled warmly.

"Hey, calm down. Everything's fine," Jack began.

"How did you stop that car? Who are you talking to over there? Who was fighting Pitch? Why can't I see them?" Jamie questioned quickly gesturing wildly. Jack blinked in surprise. He was the guardian of fun not the guardian of calming freaked out kids. He put a hand on Jamie's shoulder and stooped to look directly into Jamie's brown eyes.

"Jamie, it's alright. I was talking to Danny, the Spirit of Fear. He stopped the car alarm. How? I'm not sure. Danny was fighting Pitch. Why you can't see Danny? I guess you don't believe in him," Jack answered calmly. Jamie took a deep breath and nodded.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Jack offered. Jamie smiled.

"Let me grab my bag and say goodbye to Diana. She's supposed to be asleep but I think she might still hear me," Jamie replied and ran back into the hospital.

Jack frowned.

"So, Danny was here to check on Diana. Pitch must have sensed him here and then Danny must have tried to protect Jamie and Diana," Jack realised. He glanced at the ice on the ground. He crouched down next to it and put a hand on it. He frowned. The ice didn't feel natural. It felt colder than ice should be. Jack shook his head.

"That could just be because it's Danny's magic and not mine or something," Jack muttered to himself. Jack stood up straight and scanned the car park. The lights had begun to shine brightly again.

"I wonder who the Box Ghost is. And I wonder why he hit Danny before? And I wonder where this Danny Phantom is?" Jack mumbled to himself, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Jamie stop beside him.

"Pitch said something about Danny Phantom too. Why is he important?" Jamie recalled. Jack glanced at Jamie and shrugged.

"Wouldn't happen to know who he is would you?" Jack ventured doubtfully. Jamie nodded.

"I do actually. Or at least who he was. He died four years ago. I have a book about him that his friends released," Jamie answered. Jack stared at the fifteen year old.

Suddenly a scream came from above and Jack and Jamie looked up to see North's sleigh coming in for a landing.

"North! No more loop-de-loops!" Bunny shouted in a high voice.

"You're no fun," North retorted.

"Guys, we're not here for fun, we're here to stop Pitch. My girls spotted him here. I hope we're not too late," Tooth interjected. Jack chuckled.

"Come on Jamie. You want a ride on North's sleigh?" Jack offered.

"Would I?!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly. Jack jumped into the air and turned to grab Jamie's arms and lifted him up.

"Boy, you're getting heavy. Fair warning North's a reckless driver and there's no seatbelts," Jack grunted. Jamie nodded, grinning happily.

 **And here come some answers for the guardians.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

Jack dropped Jamie on the sleigh next to Sandy and landed beside him, falling into a seat exhausted.

"Jamie!" Tooth exclaimed surprised.

"Why did you bring him here? We're hunting Pitch not baby-sitting," Bunny grumbled.

"Hey, I'm not a baby," Jamie pointed out. Bunny ignored the protest.

"Because I promised him a lift home and Danny's hunting Pitch down right now," Jack answered.

"Danny!?" Bunny shouted angrily.

"You convinced him to help us?" Tooth inquired, shooting a disapproving glance at Bunny. Jack shook his head.

"Not exactly. He said that Pitch threatened him. Danny was staying out of this because of that. But when I told him that Diana is in hospital, he got really worried and must have come straight here," Jack explained.

"Wait, Pitch threatened Danny," Tooth repeated. Jack nodded.

"No idea how, but yeah. Danny doesn't really tell me much. But he keeps mentioning someone called Danny Phantom. Jamie has a book about the guy which I'm hoping he'd let me have a look at it," Jack replied, giving Jamie a meaningful look. Jamie nodded.

"Sure. It's in my room," Jamie agreed.

"So next stop, Jamie's house! Hold on tight! Yaah!" North yelled in his jolly voice. Jamie frowned but Jack pulled Jamie into a seat beside him just as North dove into the roads and weaved through the streets, stopping outside the Bennett house.

"That's the last time I eat carrots before getting in this sleigh!" Bunny promised to no one in particularly swallowing down his nausea.

"Oh, come on Bunny, everyone loves the sleigh," North called as the guardians walked into Jamie's house. Abby the greyhound was dozing in the hall allowing Bunny to creep by silently.

Jamie strolled into his room and dropped his bag beside a desk and turned to his bookshelves. He smiled. There it was, right beside his prized possession a book about Bigfoot autographed by Phil the yeti. He pulled it down and handed it to Jack. Jack gasped at the symbol embossed on the front. The strange logo Danny wore. A white "D" logo. He turned the book to Jamie.

"What's this?" Jack asked. Jamie glanced at the book as he turned on a couple of lamps.

"Oh, that's Danny Phantom's logo. His friend made it for him," Jamie answered. Jack glanced at his fellow guardians meaningfully.

Jack opened the book and the first page was a large picture of two boys. One had black hair and blue eyes wearing a white shirt and jeans. The other had white hair and green eyes wearing a black and white jumpsuit. Jamie peered at the page.

"That's Danny Phantom and that's Danny Fenton. He was a halfa. Half human, half ghost," Jamie explained, pointing to Fenton and Phantom in turn. Jack scowled at the page.

"Jamie, do you mind if I fold this page for a second?" Jack asked. Jamie scowled in confusion but shook his head.

"Thanks," Jack retorted and put the book down on the bed. He folded the page over so that the left half of Phantom and the right half of Fenton overlapped. He turned to the other guardians.

"Look familiar?" he inquired. Bunny shook his head.

"No way! It's got to be a trick," Bunny growled. Tooth stared wide eyed at the book. Sandy frowned at it thoughtfully. North scowled in confusion at the page.

Jamie looked at the page that Jack was holding still folded.

"Why would that look familiar?" Jamie asked. Jack turned to Jamie.

"Because that looks exactly like Danny. Danny, the Spirit of Fear. You said he died four years ago," Jack replied. Jamie nodded.

"But I don't know the details. It isn't in the book. But I know that a guy called Vlad Masters who was also a halfa was arrested for murder," Jamie retorted.

"He was murdered?" Tooth squeaked. Jamie nodded.

"Until he died, no one but his friends and sister and Vlad knew his secret. His secret identity came out as he died. At least that's how the story goes," Jamie informed them.

"Danny Phantom, what was he like?" Jack prompted. He knew that he was holding a book but he wasn't the best reader and he didn't want to waste the time reading the book to find out.

"He was a hero. He protected his hometown from other ghosts that attacked," Jamie answered with a smile. Sandy waved his hand to get Jamie's attention and made a ghost shaped sand figure above his head and a question mark. Jamie nodded.

"Yeah. Lots of different ghosts too. Skulker, Ember, Box Ghost, Lunch Lady," Jamie began to list.

"Woah, wait. The Box Ghost?" Jack repeated. Jamie nodded.

"He's mentioned a lot in the book but he doesn't seem very dangerous. More annoying than anything," Jamie replied.

"Why? Is the Box Ghost important?" North inquired. Jack shook his head.

"No, but Danny mentioned him. I asked if he was alright after Pitch threw him into a car and Danny said he'd had worse hits from the Box Ghost," Jack explained.

"Pitch threw Danny into a car?!" Tooth exclaimed. Jack nodded.

"So that's why the car alarm went off," Jamie breathed in realisation. Jack nodded to the boy.

Suddenly a bright swirling light appeared in Jamie's room. A yeti fell through and frantically garbled something to North.

"What? Slow down," North cried. The yeti took a deep breath and repeated itself but slower.

"What?!" North exclaimed outraged.

"What, what's wrong North?" Jack prompted.

"Someone is in my workshop without permission!" North growled. He unsheathed his swords and marched into the portal. The guardians glanced at each other and rushed after North, Jamie grabbed his book and ran after them mainly out of curiosity.

 **So, any guesses on who's at the workshop? Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

North pushed through the elves and yetis, all panicking due to the intruder. Jack, Sandy, Tooth and Bunny close behind. Jamie followed, gaping with awe at the immense workshop. A dream come true. What kid didn't dream of going to _the_ Santa's workshop? Even teens would be amazed. Jamie scrambled to catch up with the guardians. Jamie gasped at the sight of the massive globe with lights shining over it. He wasn't watching where he was going and bumped right into Sandy.

"Oh, sorry Sandman," Jamie quickly apologised. He looked up but Jamie couldn't see anything.

The guardians on the other hand saw Danny at the globe controls slowly rotating the globe and watching it carefully.

"Danny," Jack called. Danny waved distractedly to them and returned to what he was doing.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Bunny demanded.

"Won't be here long. Sorry, but I had to borrow your globe North," Danny replied, not moving his eyes from the globe. North blinked in surprise. He grinned.

"So, you're ready to become a guardian?" North guessed. Danny scoffed.

"No. I'm only after Pitch because he ticked me off," Danny retorted. North frowned.

"What is going on?" Jamie asked loudly, startling the guardians. They turned to him.

"You don't see Danny?" Jack inquired. Jamie shook his head.

"You have to believe Jamie. But he's right beside the globe. He's the one turning it," Tooth informed him warmly. Jamie nodded. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, muttered that he believed but nothing worked.

"I still can't see him," Jamie moaned softly.

"Of course he doesn't. That's not how I work," Danny interjected. Jack, Bunny and Tooth turned to him, confused.

"What do you mean that's not how you work? That's how everyone works. Kids can't see you unless they believe in you," Bunny retorted. Danny stopped turning the globe and stepped over to the group. He rolled his eyes as he felt a flicker of fear through Bunny.

"Why are rabbits always so nervous?" Danny remarked. Bunny glared at him.

Danny folded his arms and glared right back at Bunny.

"You work that way yes. Pitch doesn't and neither do I," Danny informed him.

"What do you mean "Pitch doesn't work that way"?" North asked.

"Guys this is getting really boring and annoying. What is he saying?" Jamie interjected. Jack turned to Danny.

"I've seen you talking to kids. They hear you right?" Jack ventured. Danny stepped over to stand beside Jamie.

"Jamie can't hear a word I'm speaking. He can't see or hear me. If I do this," Danny began to explain and placed his hand on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie didn't seem to notice, looking around the guardians looking irritated and feeling like he was missing out.

"I can ask him questions. Suggest things. If he wants my help, he can listen to me. If he doesn't, he'll telepathically tell me to leave him alone. It's all subconscious though. Kids don't know I'm there. I can tell them who I am, that I'm with them, what I look like and so on. But it will be subconscious. They might recognise my name but they won't know where from. They might know I'm there, but they'll think it's all in their heads," Danny resumed and then released Jamie's shoulder.

"Guys," Jamie prompted. Tooth smiled at Jamie.

"I'll tell you what he's saying alright. He was just explaining that you can't hear him but he can talk to you subconsciously so that's how he helps kids," Tooth paraphrased. Danny nodded gratefully to Tooth. She smiled at him.

"Glad to see the only one afraid of me is the overgrown rabbit over there," Danny commented. The guardians turned to Bunny, Tooth muttering a quick explanation why everyone was looking at Bunny. Bunny snarled.

"Keep pushing me and you'll see what these can do!" Bunny threatened and pulled out his boomerangs. Danny snorted and shook his head.

"Er, you were explaining why Jamie can't see you," Jack reminded everyone before Bunny could start a fight. Despite wanting to see who would win, they had more important things to deal with. Danny turned to Jack and nodded.

"That's right. Pitch is seen by kids that fear him. Jamie was afraid of Pitch so he saw him. I work in a similar way," Danny began.

"What, you need to be feared to be seen?" Bunny interrupted snidely.

"One more comment like that and I'll freeze you to that globe... No, it's more complicated than that. People can only see me if they're ready to face their fears. If they can't face their fears or get over their fears, they can't see me," Danny explained. Tooth relayed the explanation to Jamie who looked upset. Danny noticed.

"Tooth tell him, no one has seen me before. It's exceptionally rare for anyone let alone kids to be ready to face their fears. People usually get over them," Danny requested. Tooth blinked in surprise but told Jamie what Danny said.

"So wait, you've never been seen?" Jack inquired, suddenly feeling bad for the teen. He went three hundred years before anyone saw him. It wasn't easy. Danny shook his head.

"Nah, but it's fine. I'm used to not being noticed. Was practically invisible before I died," Danny admitted. The guardians blinked in surprise.

"You remember your life?" Jack ventured. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Some of it. Not all. Why do you ask?" Danny answered tight-lipped. Jack shifted uncomfortably.

"I didn't remember my life," he muttered. Danny nodded.

"Probably easier that way. Not remembering what you lost or left behind," Danny remarked knowingly. Jack stared at him. Danny looked away and frowned as he noticed the book Jamie was carrying. He scanned the cover before smirking.

"Oh, so you've figured out who I used to be. Good for you, although I did drop enough hints," Danny commented. He returned to the globe.

"So you were Danny Phantom before you died," Jamie called out blindly after Tooth told him what he had said.

Danny laughed.

"Yeah, that was me. You know that book doesn't even cover some of my more interesting ghost encounters. Mostly complied from my ghost files and Sam's diary," Danny revealed. He began to turn the globe again, watching it closely.

 **So, mainly the guardians getting answers this chapter. But…**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

Danny stopped the globe a few minutes later. He frowned in thought. He floated into the air and circled the globe slowly.

"Do me a favour? This was where Pitch started right?" Danny called and pointed to a town in Europe. North edged closer and nodded.

"Yes, how did you know that?" North replied.

"Because that's where I spoke with Pitch before I went on my unwanted vacation," Danny answered and floated through the air around the globe before stopping by a city in Russia. He tapped the clump of lights and checked the name of the city.

"And I've found where Pitch will hit next," Danny announced.

"Wait! How? Please don't vanish again," Jack quickly asked. Danny looked at Jack and grinned.

"It's called teleporting. But I figured it out. He's hitting as many towns or cities he can at night. Night time is a scarier time for most kids. He'll probably go back to those few lights he missed on Hallowe'en. He'll be able to frighten them easier then. So I figured out where he started and using astronomy I figured out which towns or cities Pitch could reach in a night," Danny explained.

"So Pitch threatened you. What changed?" Bunny recalled. Danny landed gently on the ground.

"He didn't threaten me Bunny. He made a deal with me. One I had to agree to to protect a few kids I've been working with," Danny replied. Jack, North and Sandy stepped closer to Danny, curious. Bunny kept his distance and Tooth and Jamie remained where they were. Tooth telling Jamie what Danny was saying.

"So what was this deal?" Bunny prompted. Danny sighed.

"Tooth, might want to stop saying what I'm saying. This will just frighten Jamie," Danny warned. Tooth turned to Danny and gave him a concerned look.

"Do you know how influential fear can be on kids? Fear can stop children being who they are. It can stop them believing in you guys, which I think is what Pitch is doing. Fear is a dangerous thing. And Pitch has enough control over it to focus it enough to scare a child to death. Pitch told me that if I didn't back off, he'd frighten the kids I work with to death. So I backed off. But I told him if any child got hurt because I wasn't there. I'd come back," Danny explained. Danny turned to Tooth.

"Your call if you tell Jamie that but Diana, his friend, was one of the kids Pitch mentioned," Danny called.

The guardians stared at him in shock.

"If that's all your questions, I'm burning moonlight. I should really go after Pitch," Danny broke the silence.

"Wait, Pitch beat you last time," Jack reminded him. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"You think that Pitch won that? He ran away scared. Trust me, he may have thrown the last blow but I won that exchange," Danny informed them.

"Pitch was afraid of _you_?" Bunny scoffed. Danny folded his arms and glowered at Bunny.

"Says the kangaroo sized rabbit that can't look at me without shaking with fear?" Danny growled. Bunny snarled angrily at Danny and took out a boomerang.

"Bunny!" Tooth warned.

"No, let him come if he wants. But he might want to check the chapter on Pariah Dark before picking a fight with me. I still have my ghost powers despite being a magical being now. And I'm not afraid to use them," Danny advised. Jack noticed the veiled farewell and he jumped onto Danny as he teleported away, bringing Jack along with him.

Everyone blinked in shock, Jamie since Jack just disappeared for no apparent reason, the guardians since Danny vanished with Jack in a puff of green mist.

"Ha, good. He's running scared," Bunny bluffed. Everyone left raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him.

"We have to go after him," Tooth decided and turned to North as he pulled out a snow globe.

"I want this place cleaned up by the time I get back," North shouted to his elves and yetis.

"My sleigh," North muttered to the snow globe and threw it into the air where it exploded into a white swirling portal and they stepped through. Bunny reluctantly getting on the sleigh and Jamie refusing to go home. Giving in to the teen, North shook the reins and the reindeer ran forward and took the sleigh and its passengers into the sky. North pulled out another snow globe and shook it, his words lost to the wind and threw the snow globe in front of him and the sleigh vanished in the sky through the resulting portal.

 **Yeah, not much to say really… let me know what you guys think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

Jack stumbled back and grabbed his head as he felt extremely dizzy.

"Jack!? What are you doing here?" Danny exclaimed in shock.

"Apparently feeling really dizzy," Jack managed. Danny laughed.

"Don't worry. It wears off after a few minutes. I used to be like that when I first figured out how to teleport," Danny assured him, having gotten over the surprise. Jack glanced at him and nodded slowly. Danny stepped away from Jack and closed his eyes, focusing on his "fear sense". It seemed to have replaced his ghost sense and improved.

He shook his head.

"Pitch isn't nearby. That or we got here first. I can't feel any fear nearby," Danny called to Jack. Jack groaned in response. Danny glanced at Jack and rolled his eyes.

"Use your ice. Cools down your head and usually clears it faster," Danny suggested. Jack glanced at Danny and made a snow ball in his hand and instantly felt a bit better. He grinned playfully and threw it at Danny. It hit Danny in the back of the head. He turned to Jack and smiled playfully, despite Jack not even using his fun powers.

"I'll get you back for that," he promised. Jack raised an eyebrow, completely surprised having expected annoyance, his dizziness fading quickly.

"Before I died, I used to be quite the joker," Danny informed him with a shrug. Danny turned around and motioned for Jack to follow him. The two immortal teens walked quietly through the park, Danny waiting for any sign of fear.

He was about to suggest that maybe Pitch was on to them when a flash of light illuminated the sky above them and North's sleigh appeared and landed in the centre of the park. Jack and Danny flew to the landing sight. They flew over a few trees and landed in front of the large sleigh, Bunny had already gotten off.

"That was amazing!" Jamie exclaimed with a broad grin and wide eyes. North smiled appreciatively.

"You brought him?!" Danny inquired loudly. Tooth turned to him.

"He didn't give us much of a choice Danny. Besides Jamie was a big help to us the last time we faced Pitch," Tooth informed him. Jamie frowned at Tooth.

"Not this again," he groaned, obviously frustrated in not being able to see or hear Danny.

"I really don't think it's a good idea for Jamie to be here. Pitch could attack at any minute and he could hurt Jamie," Danny retorted. He turned away from the guardians and scanned the shadows around them, focusing on his fear sense. Jack smiled nervously at the other guardians. No one quite knew what to make of the deceased hero. Jamie hopped off the sleigh and ran over to Jack.

"How did you disappear from the North Pole?" Jamie asked. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"That was Danny's doing. I knew he was going to leave so I grabbed him before he teleported away," Jack answered. Jamie's eyes widened.

"Danny can teleport?!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Only figured it out after I died," Danny informed them, still focusing on his fear sense. Jack blinked and relayed what Danny said to Jamie.

Before Jamie could ask more questions Danny turned to a large shadow cast by a broken streetlight.

"Come out Pitch, I know you're there," Danny demanded. Pitch stepped out of the shadow and applauded Danny.

"That is impressive Danny. How did you know?" Pitch remarked with a confident smirk. Jamie stiffened and edged closer to Jack. Danny glanced at Jamie and felt the boy's fear grow.

"You may look confident Pitch, but I can tell that you're nervous. The big five and someone who can counteract your powers, it unnerves you," Danny replied. Pitch frowned at him. Danny smiled innocently.

"And you know what Pitch, you're right to fear me. I have two years of ghost fighting and hunting under my belt and six years honing my abilities. I've fought things that are way more powerful than you and creatures that would scare anyone," Danny continued.

Pitch snarled at him.

"You think that you're a match for me?" Pitch demanded. Danny folded his arms cockily and smirked.

"Think? No. I know I'm a match, in fact I'd bet I'm more than a match for you," Danny retorted. Pitch snapped his fingers and nightmare sand horses appeared all around them, pawing the ground angrily and shaking their heads in threat displays.

"I don't think so," Pitch growled and his nightmare sand horses charged forwards. The guardians sprang into action. Bunny pulled out his boomerangs and threw them at the nearest creatures. North pulled out his swords and slashed the sand apart. Sandy created whips of golden dream sand and struck the horses, changing the sand from black to gold and into harmless dream sand animals. Tooth took to the air and charged through the horses and joined Jack, who was freezing any horses that dared to go after Jamie. Jamie cowered, terrified of Pitch and the fighting, behind Jack.

Danny on the other hand knew that the nightmare sand wouldn't stop until Pitch was taken care of or decided to stop. Danny jumped into the air and charged at Pitch instead. The king of nightmares was taken by surprise and had barely enough time to create a sword out of his nightmare sand to defend himself. Danny charged both his hands with energy, his left blue and his right green. He thrust his fists forward aggressively sometimes firing a blast of ice or ghost energy, sometimes connecting with Pitch's black body. Danny dodged Pitch expertly and he grinned as he felt like his old self.

"What's wrong Pitch? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Danny taunted as he rolled away from the sand sword. Pitch growled angrily and quickly snapped his fingers again. More nightmare sand horses walked out of the shadows and attacked Danny himself. Danny formed a shield instinctively and made a perfectly combined ghost and ice force field which the horses smashed into and disintegrated from the impact.

Pitch glared at Danny in annoyance. Danny noticed and smiled confidently. He let the shield fade and bowed mockingly.

"Do you like my shield?" he asked. Pitch slashed his sword towards Danny and he turned intangible and laughed as Pitch fell through him. Occasionally the guardians would look over at the fight between Danny and Pitch out of concern before gaping in awe as they returned to their own fights. Danny was playing with Pitch, fighting him with ease. Danny tripped Pitch over and stood over the man.

"Do I detect a flicker of fear?" Danny taunted and crouched beside the boogieman.

"Call off your sand," Danny ordered. Pitch narrowed his eyes before snapping his fingers and melting into the shadow he'd fallen in. Danny gritted his teeth with annoyance and turned to see the nightmare sand horses flee the area.

 **And a proper exchange between Pitch and the guardians and Danny. But it's not over just yet. Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	17. Chapter 17

Danny joined the guardians.

"Pitch will be back, but he won't hit this city tonight," Danny announced.

"How did you do that?" Tooth asked in awe. Danny smirked.

"That was nothing. Should have seen me in my glory days. My powers have changed a little since I became a magical being. Still figuring out how much they've changed to be honest. Like I can't duplicate anymore. Not sure why but it was never a power I used much, not very easy to pull off and control," Danny informed them. The guardians stared at him, even Bunny was so stunned that he didn't feel afraid or make snide comments.

Danny turned to Jamie who hadn't moved from where he was standing during the fight. Danny could still feel his terror and he was clearly froze with fear.

"I warned you to stay out of my way. This way I can stop two problems, the child that won't stop believing and the Spirit of Fear that stands in my way," Pitch called as he strolled out of a large shadow behind Jamie and created a large ball of black sand in his hands. Danny pushed through the guardians and charged towards the boogieman, the guardians following close behind before they were stopped by a few nightmare sand horses again. Danny ran forwards and shouted angrily at Pitch as he threw the ball of black sand at Jamie. Jamie was transfixed by Pitch's return and the guardians fighting and didn't manage to dodge the ball.

The ball of sand hit him in the chest and wrapped around him and disappeared into his body. He screamed, a scream filled with pure terror. Danny ran to him and grabbed both of the boy's shoulders and looked right into his terrified, wide eyes.

"Jamie! Jamie! You have to listen to me. It's alright! I'm right here," Danny shouted frantically. But Jamie was too afraid to even hear his voice subconsciously. Danny took a deep breath.

"Jamie, please listen to me. It's going to be fine. I'm going to help you. You just have to listen and trust me," Danny attempted again, trying to sound calm and reassuring.

"Danny! Look out!" Jack shouted as he blasted a nightmare horse with his ice powers. Danny glanced at him and saw Pitch pointing an arrow of nightmare sand at him, grinning happily. Danny scowled with determination. He didn't have time to dodge.

"Jamie, I'll be back alright? I promise. You just have to hold on for me. It's alright to be afraid. But don't let it control you. I will be back and I'll help you," Danny promised and took a step back from the boy as Pitch loosed his sand arrow. Danny didn't want to be touching Jamie in case the arrow hitting him affected Jamie.

He gasped in pain as the arrow hit his back.

"No! Danny!" Jack screamed. Pitch laughed and melted back into the shadows, this time for good, taking his horses with him. The guardians rushed to Danny's side. He was unconscious and covered in a thin veil of black energy. It rippled around him. Jack turned to Jamie, he'd fallen to the ground unconscious as well. Jack rushed to the boy's side and checked for signs of life. Jamie was still breathing but he still looked frightened and he seemed to be trapped in a terrible nightmare judging by his soft whimpers of fear and his terrified expression. Jack turned to Sandy.

"Can you help them?" Jack asked. Sandy shrugged. He touched Jamie's head before flinching and shaking his head. A dream sand wall appeared over his head. His powers were blocked. He turned to Danny and touched him and frowned. He poured a little dream sand into the black energy and images appeared in the energy, showing what Danny was seeing.

They stared in horror at the destruction Danny was witnessing and the man he was talking to. The man looked muscular and tall. He had bluish skin, fangs and burning white hair. His eyes glowed a blood red and he wore a jumpsuit similar to Danny Phantom's with the addition of a cape. Sandy poured more dream sand into the veil and they heard Danny's voice.

"Nice try Pitch. But he doesn't scare me anymore. He's not going to happen and you know why?!" Danny shouted and the image shifted into another, into a memory that Danny had never spoken about but relived all too often.

 **So I know that was a bit on the short side, but this is Danny's back story. I promised you'd learn it in time. But let me know what you guys think of that sneak attack of Pitch's.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

Danny Phantom landed in Amity Park's park. In his hand, a crumpled note from his nemesis Vlad Masters a.k.a. Vlad Plasmius. Danny didn't need to read it again. The message was burned into his memory despite having only read it twice.

"You took my love, now I'll take yours unless you meet me at this location in the park at midnight," the note read and below it gave the exact position Vlad would be. Danny scowled at the note before shoving it into a bin. He knew why Vlad was doing this. Vlad was getting Danny back for what happened last month.

Danny had been chased through Amity Park by Skulker, his parents and Valerie. Danny, without meaning to, flew straight into Vlad's mansion and decided to go to Vlad's lab since he knew Vlad had stolen the plans for the Fenton thermos during his last visit to Fenton Works. He found the ripped off Plasmius Thermos and caught Skulker. He'd forgotten his thermos in his room again. Without realising he led his parents into the lab. Jack Fenton, Danny's father, being the bumbler he was, hit a button and called up Vlad's hologram version of Maddie Fenton, Danny's mother. It was then that his parents learned of Vlad's unhealthy obsession with Maddie. Until then, Maddie had only thought of Vlad as a creep, but now he felt threatening and it frightened her.

Jack, after a little searching and asking Holo-Maddie questions, learned that Vlad hated him and wanted him dead. After that, the Fentons filed for a restraining order against Vlad and it was given to them. Vlad blamed Danny and believed that the halfa had intentionally led his parents right to the lab.

However things had been great for Danny since then. Due to the restraining order, Vlad kept clear of Fenton Works and didn't openly attack him. His friends had been concerned but Danny had decided to enjoy the peace while he could. At the end of school dance, he asked Sam to go with him. Not as friends, as a date. Sam agreed and they've been dating since.

But his friends were right. Vlad had been up to something and now he'd kidnapped Sam. Jazz and Tucker were trying to get his parents to lend Phantom some back up at this meeting but Danny wasn't going to wait. Sam was in danger and he had a time limit. He stalked through the bushes and over the lawn and faced Vlad. He was in his human form which surprised Danny. Sam was bound and gagged but her eyes seemed to be trying to warn him of something. But Danny knew that he was walking into a trap. He didn't care. He had to save Sam.

"So, what do you want Vlad? Let Sam go!" Danny shouted. Vlad grinned.

"Just a moment Daniel. I'd like you to meet some new friends of mine," Vlad replied and out of the bushes a dozen or so Guys in White agents appeared aiming guns at Danny. He scowled at them.

"So that's why you wanted to meet like this," Danny commented, referring to Vlad _Masters_ being present. Vlad turned and nodded meaningfully to the agents behind him. The guns whined into life.

"You've gotten in my way for the last time Daniel," Vlad declared.

But everyone froze and turned as the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle charged into the park, smashing a bench and knocking over a bin as it hopped the curb and drove over the lawns towards the exchange. Maddie and Jack Fenton jumped out, battle ready and Tucker and Jazz stumbled out of the back.

"Freeze ghost!" they exclaimed together. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Of course, they aim their guns at me when Vlad's right there holding Sam," he grumbled to himself. But thankfully Jazz was quick to fix that problem.

"Mr Masters? What are you doing here?!" Jazz asked loudly. Maddie and Jack turned to Vlad and scowled and then gasped as they saw Sam.

"Sam!? Vlad, release her!" Jack demanded.

"Can't do that Jack. She's here to keep Phantom in line," Vlad replied. He turned to the closet agent.

"Fire," he ordered with a triumphant smile.

"But there's human civilians there. We might harm them if we fire," the agent retorted quickly. Vlad's smirk vanished.

"I'm sure you have sufficient aim and control to only hit Phantom. Now fire!" Vlad growled. Jazz and Tucker ran forward, ignoring Maddie and Jack's protests. They stood beside Danny.

"Guys, don't. It's too dangerous," Danny muttered worriedly.

"Dude, those are anti-ghost weapons. You're more in danger than us," Tucker argued.

"If you won't fire, then give me that gun!" Vlad declared and pushed Sam to the ground and snatched the gun from the surprised Guys in White agent. Vlad pointed it at Danny. Jazz and Tucker stood in front of him. Danny glared at Vlad. He knew that the evil halfa wouldn't care about hurting or killing a few humans to get to Danny. Taking a deep calming breath, knowing that this was it, Danny phased through his older sister and best friend. He walked closer to Vlad and stopped a few feet in front of him. Danny could feel his palms growing sweaty and knew if he was in human form that his heart would be hammering in his chest. He was terrified. But he had to do this. He had to protect his family and friends.

Time seemed to slow down as Vlad pulled the trigger and the anti-ghost bullet raced through the air towards Danny. It took a split second for Jazz, Tucker and Sam to realise that Danny wasn't going to dodge the bullet. Maddie, Jack and the Guys in White stared, shocked that a ghost would do such a thing. The bullet shot into his chest and lodged there, right where his ice core and heart sat. It burned! Danny fell back on to his back and screamed in pain. Blood blossom. That's what this pain reminded him of.

Vlad stepped forward and grinned at the ghost teen's pain.

"Do you like the new bullets I helped the Guys in White to design? Anti-ghost ectoplasmic bullets laced with Blood blossom," Vlad gloated. Jazz and Tucker ran forward and fell to their knees beside Danny, as he screeched in agony. Maddie and Jack ran to Sam and untied her. Sam sprinted to Danny's side, the Fenton parents unable to stop her.

"Danny! Danny!" she cried. Danny slumped on to his back, panting, still in pain but his body had gone numb.

"Sam. I'm sorry. I love you," Danny wheezed. Sam shook her head, crying silently.

"Don't talk like that. We'll get through this," Sam growled. Danny turned his dull eyes to Jazz.

"Keep an eye on mom and dad. I know you'll be a great psychologist," Danny mumbled weakly. Jazz blinked in shock and began to tremble as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Tuck, try not to get in trouble. And keep an eye out for Dani," Danny whispered.

"No! Danny!" Sam begged. A white band of light appeared around Danny's waist as his glowing eyes faded. He was dead before he fully reverted back to human. His unseeing eyes staring up at the full moon.

 **And that is how Danny Phantom died and blew his secret. Let me know what you guys thought.**

 **I've noticed that most fanfics involving the Guys in White make the organisation evil beyond reason, I wanted to have it that the organisation wasn't evil, just against ghosts, hence the whole not putting humans in danger thing.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

The guardians watched the scene play out on the black veil of energy and jumped back in surprise as an explosion of black sand erupted around Danny and his eyes snapped open. Both his right green eye and left blue eye burning brightly. He sat up and blinked and shook his head. Before the guardians could say a word, Danny turned to Jamie and scrambled over to the boy.

"How long was I out?" He asked quickly. The guardians blinked in surprise as Danny checked Jamie's pulse and breathing. Danny glanced at them.

"Guys! How long?" Danny snapped loudly.

"Er… a few… few minutes," Jack stammered, still stunned from watching Danny's murder.

Danny nodded and placed both hands on to Jamie's shoulders.

"Jamie. Can you hear me? Jamie!" Danny prompted. He shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Tooth whispered.

"He's too scared to hear me. My voice isn't going to reach him. But I might be able to get him to listen," Danny answered.

"You said you're voice wasn't getting through," Jack reminded him. Danny turned to Jack and nodded.

"I know. This is a risk since I don't know if I can overshadow anymore since my interaction with living people is limited. But I might be able to get Jamie to hear me if I manage it," Danny explained. He stood up and made himself intangible.

"Wait, overshadow?" Jack began but Danny phased into Jamie's body before Jack could finish.

Danny appeared in a dark world. There was no light and no sound except from a little boy trembling in a dark cage. Danny walked carefully over to the little boy. He had brown hair and eyes and looked to be around four years old.

"Jamie," Danny called softly. The boy's head jerked upright and he whimpered.

"Hey, Jamie. I'm not going to hurt you. I look a bit weird but I'm here to help," Danny reassured him in a gentle voice. The little boy shrank away from Danny as he crouched down outside the cage. He touched the bars cautiously. His head exploded in terrified screams. Danny withdrew his hand. It was Pitch's handiwork. The cage would trap Jamie's inner child and smother it in fear. So much fear that Jamie wouldn't be able to feel anything. The terror would gradually eat at him and his heart would give out.

"Jamie, do you want out of this cage?" Danny asked softly. The boy watched Danny fearfully and nodded slowly. Danny smiled at him.

"Well, I'm going to help you. But I can't get you out without your help. Alright. So do what I say and we'll get you out of there," Danny informed him. The young Jamie bit his lip and nervously nodded.

"That's great Jamie. This cage is fear. And it's alright to feel afraid alright. But if you want out, you need to face it head on. Do you understand?" Danny began. Young Jamie shook his head. Danny frowned in thought. What could he say to help Jamie? He recalled the book Jamie had, the book on Danny Phantom. Perhaps Jamie's inner child would remember that person. Perhaps Jamie was a fan of Phantom.

"Jamie, do you remember any stories about Danny Phantom?" Danny asked. Young Jamie nodded.

"He was a hero," Young Jamie whispered. Danny smiled warmly and nodded encouragingly.

"That's right. He was. You know, I know a lot about him. Do you remember the story of Pariah Dark?" Danny encouraged. It was a good thing that Jamie's inner child was talking. It meant he trusted Danny. Jamie nodded.

"Well, did you know that Danny Phantom was frightened facing that ghost?" Danny revealed. Jamie's inner child shook his head, eyes wide in surprise.

"Well he was. He had to wear an experimental battle suit that was potentially lethal to anyone who wore it. Even Danny Phantom. He said his goodbyes before leaving the town. While fighting the ghost king, he was afraid that he wasn't going to win. He was losing power too quickly and Pariah Dark was strong. But you know what?" Danny recalled. Young Jamie listened carefully, his frightened trembling had stopped and he no longer shrank away from Danny.

"Even though Danny Phantom was scared. He knew what he had to do. He knew that he had to fight Pariah Dark or his town would be in danger. He wasn't fearless Jamie. He was brave. And that's what heroes are. So Jamie, are you ready to be a hero? Because I know you can face this fear. And I'm right here to help you," Danny concluded with a warm smile.

Young Jamie returned the smile nervously and nodded.

"Well done Jamie, you're doing great. Now I need you to put your hand on this bar. I'll do the same. You're going to hear a loud scream but don't let go. You have to tell the bar to leave. You have to force it to disappear. Can you do that?" Danny explained, relying on instinct to know what he had to do. Young Jamie bit his lip and edged forward and knelt in front of where Danny was crouching. Danny smiled encouragingly. Then Danny grabbed a hold of the bar and his head exploded with screaming again, but he tried to ignore the head splitting screech.

"Now you. The scream is very loud and frightening but I promise it can't hurt you," Danny warned. Young Jamie nodded and copied Danny. He whimpered and his other hand touched his head.

"Great job Jamie. Now, tell that cage to go away. Make it free you," Danny ordered and he focused on the task as well. He tried to pull the fear towards himself more than Jamie and gradually it seemed to work. The boy stopped whimpering in pain and Danny's head ache intensified.

"Leave me alone," Young Jamie began to chant under his breath.

"Keep going Jamie. You can do it," Danny encouraged. Suddenly the cage flickered and vanished and Danny and the inner child were left holding nothing. The place began to lighten and Young Jamie stood up happily and laughed. Danny smiled at the sound and unsteadily got to his feet.

"You'll be fine now Jamie. I have to go now. But you'll be fine. You did great," Danny informed the young boy. He glanced at Danny and grinned happily and nodded.

 **And Danny saved Jamie. Also, Danny is still learning how much he can and can't do. Such as overshadowing.**

 **Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

Danny phased out of Jamie and staggered to his feet.

"Danny!" Jack exclaimed, clearly relieved and caught him before Danny fell.

"You're bleeding!" Tooth gasped. Danny's head was swimming and his thoughts felt like cotton. He blinked in surprise and touched his nose. He pulled away feeling something wet and saw his blood. It was a strange mix of red and green, both colours standing out clearly. Danny blinked at the blood.

"Huh, first time I've seen what my blood looks like since I died," Danny mumbled. Jamie's eyes fluttered open and the teen sat up and rubbed his eyes. But then he realised that he wasn't at home, but in a dark park surrounded by the guardians.

"Wha? What happened?" Jamie asked.

Sandy, North and Bunny turned to the boy and cried out in relief. Sandy began to explain with his sand images but Jamie only became more confused.

"Danny, come over here," Jack urged and led Danny over to the sleigh, Danny walking unsteadily. Jamie frowned and turned to see Tooth and Jack trying to help Danny.

"Woah, is that Danny?" Jamie gasped. Seeing Danny for the first time. The three guardians gathered around the boy blinked in surprise.

"You can see him?!" Bunny retorted. Jamie nodded, not taking his eyes off Danny as he sat down on the sleigh and held his head in his left hand. It began to glow a soft blue colour.

Jamie stared at Danny and took in how the teen had changed from the pictures of Fenton and Phantom. He no longer wore a jumpsuit. He wore the same jeans as Fenton and sneakers, except the sneakers were black and white with the Danny Phantom logo on the side. He wore a white shirt like Fenton but instead of red, it was black with a black Danny Phantom logo on his chest instead of a red oval. He wore a large black leather jacket with another Danny Phantom logo on the front like a badge or school crest. Danny also wore fingerless white gloves instead of the gloves Phantom used to wear. But it was the teen's hair that caught Jamie's eye. Half was pure white, whiter than snow. And the other half was jet black, blacker than a starless night. Danny's eyes were half covered by his glowing hand, but Jamie could make out Fenton's blue eye on the left and Phantom's ionic glowing green eye on the right. The pictures didn't do the halfa justice Jamie thought.

Jamie got up, waving off Bunny and Sandy as they rushed to help him. Jamie felt fine. He walked over to the sleigh.

"What's wrong with him?" Jamie asked. Jack and Tooth turned to Jamie and gaped.

"You can see him?" Jack ventured. Jamie nodded. Jack grinned.

"Danny! Jamie can see you!" Jack exclaimed excitedly before frowning with concern as Danny didn't seem to respond.

"Danny?" Tooth called.

"Danny?!" Tooth shouted worriedly. Danny jerked up and groaned.

"Geez, keep it down! My head's killing me," he complained.

"Danny, Jamie can see you," Jack repeated and motioned to Jamie who had stopped beside Danny, looking concerned.

Danny turned to him and smiled. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked in his eyes.

"Jamie, you are the bravest kid I've ever met. Don't forget that," Danny complimented. Jamie blinked in surprise.

"Really?" Jamie breathed. Danny nodded and leant back against the side of the sleigh.

"Yep, first person to see me. Not even my family and friends can do that," Danny confirmed.

North, Sandy and Bunny joined everyone at the sleigh.

"What happened to you?" Bunny inquired. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"If I didn't know better Bunny, I'd swear you care about me. But I helped Jamie throw off Pitch's fear. Took its toll on me. I think I have a concussion. Nothing major and it'll clear up in a few minutes, half hour tops," Danny answered.

"Sorry," Jamie offered guiltily. Danny turned to him and shook his head.

"Don't be. I used to push myself like that all the time. Used to drive my sister up the wall," Danny assured him with a fond smile.

Jack glanced at the other guardians. They nodded to him.

"Danny, we saw how you died. Sandy tried to help you after Pitch shot you with that nightmare arrow or whatever and it allowed us to see what was happening in your head," Jack admitted, it wasn't right that they knew something like that without Danny's knowledge. Danny glanced at Sandy who waved nervously. Danny shrugged.

"Doesn't bother me. But if you guys need to talk about it, I'd rather not do it in front of Jamie. Wasn't a pleasant way to go," Danny replied.

"It doesn't bother you?" Tooth retorted slowly. Danny shrugged.

"It's in the past. I'll admit I'm still angry at myself for the way it happened and a little angry about what I've become. But that's my problem not yours," Danny confessed.

The guardians were silent, unsure of how to answer that. Jamie, feeling a little out of the loop despite finally seeing and hearing Danny, cleared his throat.

"So what now?" Jamie called. Danny opened his eyes, he'd closed them to help his throbbing head.

"You should be getting home. Your mom will be frantic if you're not home when you're supposed to be. And I'll need another look at North's globe to try and figure out where Pitch will head next," Danny suggested.

"I'm surprised you've stuck around so long," Jack commented.

"Not a good idea to fly with a concussion. Learned that the hard and painful way. Was so confused I flew into a billboard. And my head's fuzzy enough without teleporting," Danny informed him. The guardians flinched sympathetically at the mention of him hitting a billboard.

"Alright then. Back on the sleigh and we'll take Jamie home," North announced. Bunny stiffened.

"You know what, North. I think I'll head straight to the Pole. That greyhound really doesn't like me and er I can warn the yetis that you're on your way back," Bunny rambled and tapped the ground before anyone could reply and jumped in. North raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess, Bunny's afraid of flying," Danny remarked.

"I think it's more he's afraid of North's flying," Jack muttered and they climbed into the sleigh.

 **So Danny and the guardians are working with each other rather than alongside each other now.**

 **But let me know what you guys think of the story so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21

Bunny was waiting for them by the time they got to the North Pole. Danny immediately went to the immense globe covered in little golden lights that were slowly and sporadically blinking out. Sandy and Tooth had left to do their jobs but were promised to be alerted if Danny figured out where Pitch would target next. North, after Danny asked him to back off, uncomfortable with the large man hovering over him, returned to his own job of inventing and creating toys. Bunny and Jack waited for Danny to figure out Pitch's next move by the fire, removing elves that ventured over to the Spirit of Fear.

Danny spent the next two hours floating around the globe, scowling and muttering to himself. Eventually Jack had to ask.

"Any ideas?" he called to Danny. Danny sighed and landed by the console and shook his head.

"No, no idea where he'll hit next. Way I see it, Pitch has three options and I don't know the guy well enough to know which he'll go with. He reminds me of Vlad but he isn't the fruit loop," Danny answered and began to turn the globe from the console, hoping that the movement would help.

"What are his options? We know Pitch better, might be able to help," Bunny replied. Danny glanced at him and smirked.

"Glad to see that you've changed your mind about me," he commented. Bunny scratched his furry cheek and shrugged.

"I've been known to be wrong before. I'll admit I was wrong about you. So what do you think are Pitch's options?" Bunny retorted softly.

Danny turned around and faced them.

"Well, Pitch reminds me of Vlad. I know what Vlad would do in this situation so I can only guess that Pitch would think of these options. His first option, which I highly doubt he'll go with is that he'll keep going with his original plan and just mix things up a little, like change the order he'll hit towns. I mean he's mostly hit Europe and Russia and most of Africa, not much of America. Pitch was able to tell that I helped Diana and maybe Jamie in Burgess. Chances are he'll know I helped Jamie after he sucked him into that nightmare. Also, he'd be a fool to think that fear arrow or whatever would stop me. I'm not really affected by his powers," Danny explained. Jack and Bunny nodded in understanding.

"The other option, following Jamie's recovery, is he'll target him. He wanted Jamie out of the way for a reason. Since I stopped him last time, he might attack Burgess next and so Jamie. But the lights in Burgess aren't even flickering. So he's not hitting there yet," Danny resumed.

"Why aren't we protecting Jamie then?" Jack interjected. Danny smiled grimly.

"Because Pitch might have changed tactics and is now targeting the guardians instead of the kids and it could be a trap," Danny answered. Bunny nodded slowly.

"Makes sense," he muttered. Danny nodded slowly.

"He's still attacking towns but I can't predict where he'll hit. And he's much slower. Might be waiting for Hallowe'en before going for it properly again," Danny added. Jack scowled unhappily.

"And the third option?" he prompted.

"The third option is the one tripping me up. If it was Vlad we were dealing with. It would be this option but Pitch would probably go with option two. That's why I'm uncertain. The third option is attacking Amity Park," Danny replied.

"Amity Park?" Jack repeated, completely confused. Danny nodded.

"My hometown. I still have family there. I haven't visited for a few years now but if Pitch figures out who I used to be, he'll attack there to get to me. No offense, but I'm his biggest threat," Danny continued.

"How is that not offensive?" Bunny inquired heatedly.

"Bunny, I can reverse his powers, I'm more or less immune to his fear and I'm an accomplished fighter. I don't think anyone else can do all of that. Pitch has already tried to get me to back off, twice now. He recognises me as a threat," Danny retorted calmly.

"So why wouldn't Pitch go for that option?" Jack asked, stopping Bunny from starting an argument. Danny nodded.

"Because it's obvious that magical beings don't know much about ghosts. None of you had heard of Danny Phantom. Pitch would need to figure out who I was and what I was to know where and who to attack. So it depends on how smart Pitch is. Vlad knows or rather knew who I was. It was the biggest thing between us, we knew each other's secret and could use it as blackmail or to bargain with. It's the only reason he didn't attack and kill me before he did. But Pitch had never heard of Phantom when I threatened him," Danny explained. Danny shrugged and turned back to the globe. None of them noticing a small creature made of nightmare sand slip out of hiding and run through the air and out of the skylight.

 **So… any guesses what option Pitch will go for and what that nightmare sand creature could mean…?**

 **sorry it's a bit short, but let me know what you think so far.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22

It was dark in Amity Park. Sam and Tucker had come home for the Hallowe'en break from college and were reliving old memories by patrolling the town for ghosts. Danielle had taken over Danny's role as Amity Park's protector. She wasn't as powerful as Danny and hadn't activated her own ghostly wail yet but she was enough of a threat to invading ghosts to keep the town safe. Sam had taken her Goth look to a whole new level. She had shaved half her head and left the other half long, almost to her elbow. She wore black jeans, shirt and her signature combat boots. She wore a black choker and a black bangle with an old, worn remnant of Danny's insignia. True it was also Danielle's but this bangle was five years old and so it was Danny's symbol to her.

Tucker had grown up a lot since Casper High. He wore a red beanie instead of his beret and wore contacts. He had the beginnings of a beard on his chin. He wore blue jeans and a yellow shirt. He'd upgraded his tech too. Slightly reluctantly since he had gotten rid of his PDA. Now he used a high-tech smart phone that he upgraded personally, thanks to knowledge and technology from his engineering and computing course at college.

"And it's officially Hallowe'en," Tucker announced in a bright tone checking his watch showing it was after midnight.

"It's just another day Tuck. Why do you care?" Sam mumbled.

"Because it has such good memories. All those nights walking around and getting free candy. Makes me wish I was a kid again," Tucker reminisced. Sam scoffed.

"Kid? Tuck you trick-or-treated until you were sixteen. You had to stop because everyone refused to give you candy," Sam reminded him. Tucker shrugged.

"And your point is? If I could, I'd still trick-or-treat. It was fun and I got to pig out on free sugar," Tucker replied. They stopped outside Amity Park's graveyard.

"So, what do you say we head home? It looks all clear to me," Tucker suggested. Sam bit her lip and shook her head.

"I haven't visited Danny in ages. I want to go before I head home," Sam decided. Tucker smiled sadly and nodded.

"Alright Sam," Tucker agreed and they climbed over the gate and jumped down to the path below and walked quietly through the gravestones.

"So, how does Ricky feel about you know, Danny," Tucker ventured.

Sam still missed Danny and Tucker knew she had feelings for him still. She was hoping that the Fentons found Danny in the Ghost Zone despite him being dead for four years now. Tucker didn't think Danny was in there, not after so long. It had been a hope for the first couple of years but Danny knew the Ghost Zone so well that if he was a full ghost, he would have come home by now. But Maddie, Jack and Sam argued that they didn't know how long it took for a ghost to form after they died. No one had the answer and so they couldn't say it wouldn't happen.

Sam frowned.

"I broke up with Ricky weeks ago," she recalled. Tucker scowled and checked his phone. Sam had so many boyfriends that it was hard to keep track.

"Oh, my bad Bobby. How does Bobby feel about it?" Tucker amended. Sam sighed loudly.

"He thought it was stupid. Broke up last week," Sam answered. Tucker smiled sympathetically at his friend. Most boys didn't understand. But Tucker had seen them two together. They had to have been soul mates. It was cruel that they'd only been together for a few weeks when Danny had been killed. And it was even worse that they had been there and watched it happen, unable to save him.

Sam turned down a smaller path and Tucker jogged to catch up. Within a few minutes they were standing in front of a four year old gravestone. The town had pitched in for the ceremony out of respect for what Danny had done for them. His gravestone was a beautiful marble, white with black veins. A fitting stone to guard over the deceased halfa. The epitaph written in bold black lettering. Danny's insignia was at the top.

"Here lies Daniel Fenton a.k.a. Danny Phantom. A son, brother, friend and hero. He will be missed and our hearts are with him, wherever he may be. Rest in Peace," The epitaph read. The grave was littered with dying flowers and Danny Phantom memorabilia, gifts from family and fans.

Sam and Tucker stood in the biting cold air in silence. Tucker wasn't sure if he should comfort Sam or leave her alone. He couldn't tell with her gothic poker face always on. Danny had been able to tell. The school dance when he accidently gave Paulina a ghost amulet that changed her into a rampaging dragon when angry, Tucker hadn't realised that Sam had wanted to go but Danny had. Tucker glanced up at the full moon, so similar to the one on the night Danny died. Tucker hated the full moon. He would rather no moon than to have that reminder in the night sky of the worst night he'd ever experienced.

Sam took a deep shuddering breath and Tucker realised that she was silently crying. He hesitantly put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She shrugged it off and wiped away the tears, smudging her thick black mascara and eye liner but she didn't care.

"Come on, let's go Tuck," she whispered and turned away from the grave. Tucker nodded mutely and walked with Sam down the path and hopped over the gate.

They walked to the end of the road, their homes in different directions.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Tucker offered, unsure if Sam would want to meet up. She nodded and gave Tucker a small smile.

"Sure Tuck. Nasty Burger?" Sam replied. Tucker grinned.

"If that's alright with you," Tucker agreed. Just as they were going to go their separate ways, they heard a bloodcurdling shriek of terror from a house nearby. Lights flickered on and they heard a child crying, terrified. Sam and Tucker frowned.

"Ghosts?" Sam asked Tucker. He shrugged.

"Dunno, only ghost I can think of that would attack now is the Fright Knight. But he hasn't been a problem on Hallowe'en since… well since Danny borrowed his sword," Tucker answered, nervous about mentioning Danny. Sam nodded.

"Maybe we should ask what happened. If it is a ghost, we should deal with it," Sam suggested. Tucker bit his lip nervously and nodded.

They ran across the deserted street and Sam knocked on the door. A man in pyjamas answered it a few minutes later.

"Is everything alright? We heard a child screaming. Was it a ghost?" Tucker informed him. The man shook his head.

"It was nothing. My daughter just had a nightmare. She's pretty shaken up about it but no ghosts. Thank you for checking on us though," the man replied, recognising Sam and Tucker as regular ghost hunters in Amity Park. They nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly there was another scream and crying came from the house next door and then lights flicked on. Sam, Tucker and the man watched in stunned silence as the entire street lit up and children cried. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other and nodded. Something was happening. Sam invited herself into the man's house to ask his daughter what happened and Tucker ran next door.

 **And we see a little of how Danny's loved ones are coping and what option Pitch went with…**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23

Danny turned the globe again and blinked, he zoomed up into the air and watched a clump of lights. A number of which were flickering. He glanced at the name beside the lights and scowled angrily.

"He is ticking me off," he growled. Bunny looked up, Jack had gone to Jamie to make sure option two wouldn't happen and Pitch went after the boy.

"Something wrong?" Bunny called, his sensitive ears picking up Danny's growl. Danny turned to Bunny and nodded.

"Pitch went with option three. He's attacking Amity Park right now. Bunny gather the guardians, I'll meet you there," Danny decided.

"Wait, you shouldn't go alone!" Bunny began but Danny landed and disappeared in a puff of green mist. Danny found it easier to teleport accurately when he was standing first. Bunny scowled at the spot Danny vanished from.

"North!" Bunny hollered and jumped nimbly through the yetis and elves to warn Father Christmas.

Jack sat in Jamie's bedroom, glaring at every shadow in the room, daring Pitch to come after the boy. Jack was ready. He held his staff ready and kept his ears open. Listening for any sign of Pitch or anyone bringing news. Jamie hadn't gotten in trouble, thankfully, despite coming home after the time he agreed with his mother. His mother guessed that Jamie had just lost track of time visiting Diana. The house was silent, Jamie's parents in bed, sleeping peacefully.

Suddenly the ground in the corner dipped and formed a hole. Jack watched the hole and sighed in relief when Bunny's head popped out.

"Bunny, any news?" Jack whispered. Bunny nodded.

"Danny reckons Pitch is attacking Amity Park right now. He went ahead," Bunny answered. Jack nodded before frowning.

"Alone?" he inquired. Bunny nodded.

"Couldn't stop him. But he looked ticked," Bunny replied.

"And you let him?" Jack retorted incredulously. Bunny scowled angrily.

"No, but he didn't leave much of a choice. He disappeared on me. Teleported," Bunny snapped. The light turned on and Jack and Bunny froze. They didn't realise that they had stopped whispering. They smiled nervously at Jamie. He watched them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jamie asked softly, aware of his sister in the next room.

"I was here to make sure Pitch didn't come after you. Bunny… er he was telling me that Danny tracked down Pitch," Jack answered embarrassed. This wasn't the first time the guardians had accidently woken Jamie due to an argument in his room. Jamie nodded and got out of his bed and pulled on his sneakers.

"What are you doing?" Bunny demanded.

"Coming with you," Jamie replied and grabbed his winter jacket on his desk chair and slipped it on.

"No way Jamie. Danny was right in Russia. We shouldn't have brought you then and we're not taking you now," Jack decided. Bunny nodded sternly in agreement. Jamie looked at the guardians.

"I can help. What if you need to talk to kids but they don't believe in you anymore. I can be seen no matter what and I'm not… alright, I'm scared of Pitch but I'm not afraid of facing him," Jamie retorted confidently. Jack and Bunny blinked in surprise and glanced at each other. He had a point. Jack bit his lip.

"I don't know. What if you get hurt?" Jack ventured. Jamie smiled.

"I won't. Besides, I'll have the guardians with me. I want to help you guys. And I know I can, just give me a chance," Jamie answered.

Jack sighed in defeat. As much as he hated it, Jamie had a point. They might need someone that everyone could see. And if Jamie was with them, they could protect him. There was nothing stopping Pitch from coming here as soon as they turned their backs and attacking Jamie after all.

"Danny is going to be furious," Jack mumbled and nodded.

"Bunny, are you picking anyone else up?" Jack inquired. Bunny shook his head.

"No, North's going to get Sandy and Tooth," Bunny answered.

"Alright then, open a tunnel to Amity Park," Jack announced and Bunny eyed Jamie one last time, receiving a determined scowl, before complying.

Jack and Jamie jumped in, Jamie scribbling a note lying to his parents, saying he was going to visit Diana and meet up with his friends in case he wasn't back before they checked in on him in the morning. Bunny followed them and the hole closed up. In minutes, they climbed out of a hole in the middle of a park at night.

"So this is Amity Park?" Jamie broke the oppressive silence. Bunny nodded.

"I wonder where Danny went to though. This is his old stomping grounds," Bunny murmured. They looked up a street nearby as houses lit up and crying filled the night air.

"My guess is that he'll be after Pitch and I'd bet my staff that Pitch is responsible for that," Jack remarked. Bunny and Jamie nodded and they ran to the street.

 **And the fight is taken to Amity Park. Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24

Jack and Bunny slipped in and out of houses and reported back to each other that every kid in every house was crying about having nightmares. A couple of kids had noticed Bunny but Bunny was, well, as quick as a bunny, and they didn't get a good look. Jamie however had noticed a couple of people running through the streets, following the crying and lights.

They'd just finished checking every house on that street when North, Tooth and Sandy arrived through a snow globe portal. They'd argued that it was too dangerous for Jamie but Jamie convinced them, like Jack and Bunny had been, that they needed him. Danny landed on the street a few feet away. He frowned at Jamie and shook his head.

"Let me guess, Jack or Bunny woke you up and you convinced them to bring you," Danny commented. Jamie nodded and gave him a determined scowl, daring him to tell him to go home. Danny sighed.

"Just don't get yourself killed alright. Let me and the guardians deal with Pitch," Danny retorted. Jack blinked in surprise. Danny noticed the guardians watching him, surprised by his reaction, or lack thereof.

"He's made up his mind. I'm not going to be able to change it. Besides I did worse when I was his age… and alive," Danny explained and turned to scan the road.

"So, where have you been?" Bunny asked.

"Scouting Amity Park. Hasn't changed much since I was last here but I had to refresh my memory. I'm not going to be able to track Pitch using my fear sense. He's too erratic. I'm feeling fear all around me. Thankfully not enough to scar any kids but it's disorientating," Danny answered.

"You can feel fear?" Jamie gasped. Danny glanced at him and nodded.

"And it's all around us. So much, I can't block it out and it is confusing," Danny admitted.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack inquired. Danny smirked and nodded.

"I'll be fine. Can't be worse than having my powers going haywire in a ghost fight which happened to me more than once," Danny replied.

The guardians and Jamie followed Danny as he began to walk down the street. They went down a few darkened streets when a scream and crying reached them. Danny raced to the source, quickly leaving all but Bunny and Tooth behind. But once they reached the house, Danny simply phased inside and checked the child. It was a little boy, already being comforted by his parents. Danny smiled at the sight. In his line of work, helping scarred kids pull their lives together, he didn't see these touching moments enough. He phased back out of the house and noticed the guardians and Jamie watching him. He shrugged. Pitch was long gone.

Jamie suddenly noticed two people running down the street and to the house Danny had just been inside. The girl knocked on the door and waited. Jamie shrank into the shadows alongside the house with the guardians.

"I don't get it. This isn't like any ghost we've seen. The Fright Knight would be flashier than this and the Box Ghost, although this annoying, isn't this fast or frightening," The boy panted. The girl nodded.

"True, but I can't think what else could get in and out of all these houses fast enough. It could be Nocturne. He could be using his sleep walkers to get everywhere so fast," the girl replied.

"But wouldn't Nocturne want everyone to stay asleep. Not waking kids up," the boy pointed out.

The girl opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the front door opening.

"Hi, we heard your child's crying. A lot of kids have been frightened by something in the last twenty minutes. Do you mind if we have a word. We're trying to track down the ghost responsible," the girl greeted the father of the crying son. The man nodded.

"Of course but Eric is really upset. Be patient with him please, he's usually very shy," the man answered and ushered the two young adults inside.

Jamie frowned as the two people disappeared inside.

"I've seen them running around the town a lot. I wonder who they are," Jamie announced. The guardians shrugged and turned to Danny, who, to their astonishment, was staring at the door with an unreadable expression. He looked upset, happy, worried and nervous all at the same time. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Danny?" Jamie called cautiously. Danny didn't seem to hear him. Jack edged closer and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny?" Jack repeated. Danny blinked and turned to him.

"Jack, what's up?" he asked in a cracked voice.

"Do… do you know them?" Jack ventured. Danny suddenly looked extremely sad and shook his head.

"No, not anymore," he muttered. Jack blinked in surprise.

But before Jack or anyone could offer any words of comfort, Danny turned away from them.

"Guys, I'm going to take to the air. I can cover more ground on my own. No offense but I need to be faster in order to catch up to Pitch and may be an aerial view will help," Danny decided and jumped into the air. Everyone blinked in stunned silence.

"Woah, coming here mustn't be easy for him," North remarked.

"Well, he didn't die that long ago. It must be hard to see his family and not being able to talk to them," Tooth added sadly. Jack frowned as he recalled that Danny mentioned it was probably easier not to remember everything after you die. At the time Jack had thought it was because of bad memories, but now… perhaps it was the good ones that were the hardest to remember. Jack shook himself out of those thoughts. They had a job to do. They had to find Pitch and stop the boogieman from making Hallowe'en everyone's worst nightmare.

 **And we start to see why Danny doesn't visit Amity Park. Like we learned earlier, Danny's still mourning his death. Let me know what you guys think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	25. Chapter 25

Danny soared above Amity Park. It felt so natural. So calming. Seeing Sam and Tucker had really knocked him. He was glad to see them and proud to see them doing their best to help the kids around them but he was also upset to see them. It hurt to see his best friend and sort of ex-girlfriend. He missed their friendship so much being dead but it was something he couldn't change. His friends weren't scared of much. Ghosts, monsters, madmen… they were fine. They didn't need to face their fears, so they'd never see him. But he was also worried about them. It was a natural instinct for him, created from protecting them from dangerous ghosts during ghost attacks for two years of near-constant danger. So to see them chasing after Pitch Black, a being of pure fear and malice intent on getting to him… it concerned him. They weren't equipped to fight the boogieman, after all it was doubtful that they'd see the guy.

Danny took a deep breath and flew higher still. He stopped and looked down. Hoping that distancing himself from his friends and taking a moment to collect his thoughts away from the disorientating fear all around him would help. However he didn't expect to see what he saw. The lit up houses weren't random after all. They created a pattern. One that pointed right at Casper High. Danny growled angrily under his breath. Pitch was toying with him. It was a trap, for him and he knew it was. But he was going to walk into it. He had no choice. It was either follow along or let Pitch continue terrorising children.

Jamie and the guardians watched Danny disappear from sight into the dark night. They jumped in fright when the front door to the house swung open.

"Thank you for your time," the boy thanked the man graciously. The man nodded.

"I only hope that we helped you. Please stop the monster that did this to my little boy," the man requested.

"Don't worry sir, we're on the job," the girl assured him and the couple stepped onto the sidewalk. They sighed loudly as soon as the front door shut.

"So that was a dead end," the girl grumbled, unaware of Jamie and the guardians listening. The boy nodded.

"This ghost is good. It gets in, scares kids and gets out without being seen," the boy agreed.

"I wish we'd brought Fenton phones with us. At least then we could have contacted Dani," the girl muttered.

"Yeah, she really needs to get a cell. That used to work with Danny," the boy commented. The girl scoffed.

"No it didn't. He never answered. Plus Dani is so like him, she'd probably lose it or get it broken in a matter of days," the girl retorted with a sad smile.

"We could really use Danny right now. He really had a knack for tracking ghosts," the boy remarked.

"Yeah, he did Tuck. But so do we. And we need to find this ghost before it scares more kids. I mean it may be Hallowe'en but this scaring everyone… it's going a little too far," the girl decided.

"Alright Sam. So what do you think we should do now?" the boy, Tuck asked.

Jamie gasped. The guardians glanced at him with slight confusion and concern.

"What is it Jamie?" Jack whispered, despite knowing that the people on the sidewalk wouldn't see or hear him.

"That's Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. They used to be Danny's best friends. They also helped him and were with him from the start of his ghost fighting career," Jamie explained, looking a little star-struck.

"No wonder Danny was acting off. Seeing them must have struck a nerve," Bunny commented.

"Maybe they can help us," Jamie suggested.

"How? They won't believe in any of us Jamie. You'll sound delusional," Jack reminded him. Jamie shook his head.

"I don't need to explain about you guys, only Pitch. Trust me, these guys have seen weird stuff," Jamie replied and stepped out of the shadows towards the twenty year olds.

Jamie nervously cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, are you Tucker Foley and Sam Manson?" Jamie called hesitantly. Sam and Tucker turned to him. Sam frowned suspiciously.

"Who wants to know?" she demanded.

"I'm Jamie, Jamie Bennett and I know what's causing all this," Jamie answered quickly. Tucker blinked in surprise and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder before she could intimidate the younger boy further.

"What do you know?" he asked. Jamie smiled cautiously.

"Pitch Black is causing all this. He can only be seen by people who are afraid of him. He's also called the boogieman. And he can use shadows to travel and he can create nightmares and stuff," Jamie explained. Tucker and Sam glanced at each other.

"Well it would explain how he's so fast. Travelling through shadows. And if he can only be seen by certain people, it would explain how no one's seen anything," Tucker commented. Sam nodded slowly.

"So, any idea where he'll be?" Sam inquired. Jamie shook his head.

"We've-er… I've been trying to catch up to him too. Maybe if we can figure out where he's been, we can figure out where he'll go," Jamie replied. Tucker nodded.

"It's better than running around in circles all night," Tucker commented and pulled out his high-tech phone and began tapping on it. Sam studied Jamie.

"Jamie, do your parents know you're out here?" she asked. Jamie blinked in surprise. He bit his lip, uncertain how to answer.

"I'll take that as a no. Leave this to us Jamie, go home. Ghost hunting is dangerous," Sam suggested. Jamie shook his head.

"I can see Pitch. You mightn't. How can you fight something you can't see?" Jamie pointed out. Sam frowned unhappily.

"Sam, he has a point. And I think I might have found where Pitch is," Tucker announced. He turned his phone for Sam and Jamie to see. It was a live satellite feed of the view of Amity Park from above. The lit up houses formed an arrow, pointing to Casper High. The three looked up at each other and began to run towards the school, Jamie following Sam and Tucker, and the guardians chasing them.

 **And everyone's running into the trap. Yeah, this will end well…**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

Sam and Tucker reached the front doors of the school first. Tucker tried the door to find it locked. Sam shoved him aside and pulled out lock picking tools from her jeans pocket. Jamie joined them, huffing breathlessly.

"What are you doing?" he wheezed.

"The school's locked. And since we can't phase inside, Sam learned how to pick locks. The town understands and as long as we don't take anything, they don't mind," Tucker explained. There was a soft click and Sam tucked her tools into her pocket and pushed the door open.

"Come on," she called as she stepped inside the dark, silent school.

"This is creepy," Jamie whispered nervously as they walked through the dark, empty halls.

"What is?" Sam asked evenly.

"Being in a school, at night. It's creepy," Jamie elaborated. Sam and Tucker laughed.

"If you think this is creepy, you don't stand a chance in the ghost hunting business," Tucker chuckled. Jamie frowned but didn't reply. They walked in silence, the guardians keeping their distance so they wouldn't distract Jamie and make him look crazy to the ghost hunters.

Sam and Tucker navigated the halls with ease and eventually came to two double doors standing wide open.

"Hmm. Invitation much?" Sam muttered. Tucker nodded and pulled a small metal gun with green inlay. Sam did the same.

"Jamie, you should probably stay back. We don't have any extra weapons with us," Tucker suggested. Jamie shook his head.

"You can't see him. I can," Jamie reminded him. Tucker nodded, but he didn't look happy with the situation. The trio stepped inside the large room.

Sam and Tucker gasped as they spotted a younger girl. She had shoulder length pure white hair tied back into a pony tail with a fringe. She had glowing intense green eyes. She wore a two piece black and white suit, showing her mid-rift, with gloves, one white and one black and large white boots. She had a small "D"-like symbol on her chest. But what shocked the ghost hunters was that the ghost was bound to a chair by jet black bindings and she was trembling in fear. Her usually happy, relaxed eyes were wide with terror.

"Dani!" Sam cried and she and Tucker ran over to the ghost girl and began to untie her, starting with the one gagging her.

"Guys, you have to get out of here. There's this thing somewhere close by. He did this and he said something about me being bait. Get out of here," Danielle whispered, voice shaking with her fear.

"We're not leaving you Dani," Tucker replied and began to tug hopelessly at a black rope around one of her arms.

"I can't phase out Tuck, you have to go," Danielle retorted.

Jamie watched Sam and Tucker trying to free Danielle Phantom, he was excited to meet the ghost girl but concerned by the circumstances. This was a trap. Who for? Sam and Tucker? The guardians? Danny? Jamie blinked in realisation. Danny! These were some of the people he really cared for. Jamie was just about to suggest getting help when the sound of clapping echoed around the room.

"How admirable? But not good enough," Pitch announced. Jamie turned around and saw the guardians running forward but the door was suddenly blocked by a wall of black swirling sand.

Pitch then walked calmly out of a shadow and grinned at the four people. Danielle and Jamie shivered at the sight of that cruel smile. Sam and Tucker frowned and looked around. They saw the black wall and Danielle and Jamie starting to look frightened at a space in front of them.

"What's wrong? Is that ghost here?" Sam called. Pitch laughed.

"Ghost? You need to broaden your horizons. Allow me to show you," Pitch announced gleefully. Pitch then created two balls of black sand in his hands and tossed them at Sam and Tucker. Jamie and Danielle didn't have the time to warn them and the sand hit them in the chest and flowed into their bodies. Their confused expressions melted away into sheer terror and they backed away from the suddenly visible Pitch Black.

"Who… who are you?" Sam stammered. Pitch smiled and bowed theatrically.

"Pitch Black at your service, king of nightmares and the boogieman. But you aren't who I'm after. He should be here any minute now," Pitch answered loudly and then snapped his fingers. Nightmare sand erupted from the shadows and wrapped around Jamie, Sam and Tucker, pulling and binding them to three more chairs which were placed beside Danielle.

 **Yeah, the trap is ready for Danny now. Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	27. Chapter 27

Danny phased through the wall into the gym. He'd checked every classroom, bathroom and changing room. He'd checked the grounds around the school and the basement. Danny frowned in frustration and phased back out of the room. Thankfully the school wasn't close to many affected houses, the fear wasn't reaching him as much anymore. He felt some but it wasn't confusing him in its intensity. The only place left was the cafeteria. Danny walked down the corridor before seeing the guardians trying to break through a wall of nightmare sand. But every time Sandy or the others touched the wall, the sand threatened to engulf them, something they knew from experience wasn't good.

"What are you guys doing here? Where's Jamie?" Danny called as he joined them. The guardians turned to him.

"Thank goodness you're here. You have to help us get through. Jamie went inside with Sam and Tucker. Pitch is in there," Tooth informed him. Danny blinked in shock. Sam and Tucker were here?!

"Why was Jamie with Sam and Tucker?" Danny demanded.

"He thought that they could help," Jack answered. Danny glared at him angrily.

"Pitch is trying to get to me! I didn't want them involved," Danny growled. The guardians bit their lips and looked guilty.

"We didn't know that. You didn't tell us," Bunny replied. Danny took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I know. Sorry. I'm just on edge. Leave this to me," Danny apologised and stepped up to the sand.

"Wait, you can't take Pitch on by yourself," Jack retorted. Danny turned to Jack.

"I have to do this Jack. None of you can get close to Pitch. Trust me I'll be fine," Danny replied.

"But it might be a trap!" Jack argued. Danny nodded.

"I know it is," Danny informed them.

"But the last time you walked into a trap, you died!" North reminded him. Danny nodded slowly and gave them a grim smile.

"Some things are unavoidable. Sometimes you just have to face your fears," Danny remarked and walked straight into the wall of sand, not bothering to turn intangible. The sand melted around him sending fear at him but he was able to shake off the feeling and emerged in the cafeteria.

Sitting in the centre of the room was Jamie, Sam and Tucker and Danny blinked in surprise as he recognised his clone. Danielle looked to be around eighteen now. But Danny knew that mentally she was probably around thirteen or fourteen. He gritted his teeth and scowled angrily. He stepped over to them and felt their fear radiating from them. Pitch melted out of a shadow near the four captives.

"Ah, you finally arrive. I thought I was pretty easy to find personally. I'm disappointed," Pitch greeted him. Danny's scowl deepened and ignored the confused expressions on Sam, Tucker and Danielle's faces. Jamie looked up and saw Danny walked silently towards them.

"Don't! It's a trap!" Jamie warned.

"I know Jamie. That's why I'm here. Tell the others it's alright. Help is here," Danny replied. Jamie's eyes widened and he relayed the message to Sam, Tucker and Danielle.

"How do you know that?" Danielle whimpered.

"Because I can see and hear him. No one else can," Jamie answered softly. Danny stopped in front of Pitch.

"You really think that you can save them?" Pitch inquired. Danny narrowed his eyes at the boogieman.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of Pitch. Ticking me off is not a good idea. And right now, I'm furious," Danny growled. Pitch laughed.

"Furious? That's hilarious. I think you're forgetting our last two encounters," Pitch replied. Danny shook his head.

"I think you're forgetting Pitch. You retreated the first time and the second time you played a coward's trick," Danny recalled. Pitch scowled at Danny.

"This time will be different. Those bindings are slowly corrupting their hearts and minds with fear. She's been bound for a long time now. You can't defeat me," Pitch bragged, nodding to Danielle. Danny glanced at Danielle and felt that Pitch was right. Soon Danielle's fear would take over her mind.

"How long do you think it'll take for lesser minds like those pathetic friends of yours will last and an unextroridinary boy that got lucky?" Pitch taunted. Danny returned his gaze to Pitch.

"You've made a big mistake Pitch. No one threatens them. No one!" Danny snarled. Danny's right hand glowed bright green and punched Pitch in the face. Pitch stumbled back and chuckled.

"This will be fun," he commented and the room filled with nightmare sand horses. They charged at Danny. Danny's left blue eye flashed and his left hand glowed bright blue. The room dropped a few degrees and the horses were encased in ice within seconds.

Pitch blinked in shock.

"I told you. Making me angry isn't a good plan Pitch," Danny reminded him and he turned to Pitch and ignited both his hands, one blue, one green. Pitch dodged Danny's blasts and created a massive scythe of black shadows and swung at him. Danny, caught unawares by the large weapon was thrown back into the black wall blocking the entrance. This time the sand clung on to him and held him. Fear trickled into him and Danny knew that anyone else would be terrified but this only infuriated him further.

As Pitch and Jamie watched, transfixed by the Spirit of Fear. At first Pitch watched with glee but it quickly changed to horror and even fear. Danny's black hair slowly turned white and gradually covered his whole head. His blue eye changed to match his glowing green one.

"Let me _go_!" Danny demanded, ending in a ghostly wail. Pitch was thrown off his feet and pinned to the opposite wall. Jamie, Sam, Tucker and Danielle groaned in pain as the sound attacked their ears and as soon as the black bindings vanished, clapped their hands over their ears and fell to the ground. The sand wall melted away and released Danny.

 **So, remember how I said that Danny could only use certain powers on certain sides. In Danny's anger, his ghost side spread and took over, allowing him to tap into his more powerful ghost powers. It's not explained in the story, so I thought I'd explain here.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	28. Chapter 28

Danny stopped his wail and stood there panting for a second, his hair and eyes snapped back to their previous appearance. The guardians slowly looked up, having heard and did the same as the captives to protect themselves from the devastating sound. Danny stumbled and Jack rushed forward and caught Danny before he hit the ground.

"What was that?!" Jack asked loudly, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"My… ghostly wail. Didn't know… I could do that still. Really wears me out," Danny managed weakly. Jack noticed Pitch getting unsteadily to his feet but the other guardians rushed forward and Sandy wrapped him in dream sand whips.

"That… that sounded like a ghostly wail!" Sam commented as she picked herself up, speaking louder than normal due to a ringing in her ears. Tucker looked up and nodded.

"But the only ghost that we knew could do that was…" Tucker began.

"Danny," they whispered in unison. Jack glanced at Danny. Danny was watching his friends closely, his expression once again unreadable. Jamie sat up and rubbed his aching ears.

"It was," Jamie informed them without thinking. Sam and Tucker turned to Jamie.

"No it wasn't. Danny's gone," Tucker snapped quickly.

"And if he did come back, why didn't he show himself to us?" Sam added, sounding hurt.

Jack helped Danny to stand more upright, this was difficult to watch. Jack couldn't imagine how it could be for Danny. No wonder Danny didn't visit home much. Jamie shook his head. Danny turned away from the exchange before gasping at Danielle. She was curled up and shaking. He pushed himself away from Jack and stumbled unsteadily to Danielle's side.

He touched her shoulder nervously and felt her fear. It was almost overwhelming.

"It's alright Dani. It's over," Danny whispered. Danielle shook her head. Danny bit his lip.

"I hope this doesn't back fire," he muttered and phased into Danielle's mind.

He saw Danielle, in her twelve year old human form. She was destabilising and shadow creatures were attacking her.

"Dani!" Danny called to her. Danielle turned to him smiled with relief.

"Danny! You have to help me!" Danielle pleaded. Danny nodded and ran to her side. He touched her shoulder and she instantly stopped melting.

"It's alright Dani. You're stable now and these things… they're just bad dreams. You can face that right?" Danny urged. Danielle smiled and nodded.

"Course I can," Danielle answered and her fear reduced as she turned to them.

"Go away!" she shouted. The shadows froze and Danielle took a bold step forward.

"Leave me alone!" Danielle ordered and the shadows vanished. Danielle smirked and turned to Danny. She frowned.

"Wait, you look different. What happened to you?" Danielle realised. Danny laughed softly and knelt down to Danielle's level.

"It's a long story Dani and one that's not important. You're fine now so I have to go," Danny replied. Danielle frowned and grabbed his hand before he could go.

"Please, come back," she whispered. Danny smiled sadly.

"Sorry Danielle. Not my call," Danny apologised and gently pulled his hand away and disappeared.

Danny phased out of Danielle and took a steadying breath. He hated seeing Danielle frightened and that upset. He coughed softly as tears threatened and he blinked them away. The guardians had taken Pitch out of the room, hopefully dealing with him appropriately. Jack stood to one side leaning on his staff and watching Danny with concern. Danielle sat up and sniffled.

"Danny," she muttered. Sam and Tucker stopped arguing with Jamie, who was trying to explain why Danny couldn't be seen.

"What did you say Dani?" Sam inquired gently. Danielle shook her head.

"Must have been my imagination. I thought I heard Danny's voice," she replied. Jamie watched the halfa, wondering if she had heard Danny. Danielle turned away and gaped at Danny who wasn't facing them, trying to get his emotions under control. Jack remained a respectful distance but noticed the change in Danielle.

"Danny?" Danielle called uncertainly. Danny stiffened. He turned and blinked in shock as Danielle stared at him in disbelief.

"Can you see me?" he asked softly. Danielle nodded, her face morphing into a smile and tears welling in her eyes.

She floated into the air and shot over to Danny, clinging his neck and crying happily into his shoulder.

"You came back!" she exclaimed, overjoyed. Danny quickly phased away and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Dani, but I'm not back," Danny told her firmly. Jamie and Jack watched the scene, shocked by Danny's reaction. Sam and Tucker stared in confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course you are. You're right in front of me!" Danielle argued sternly. Danny shook his head.

"No, I'm not a ghost. Your ghost sense would have gone off. I'm like Pitch. I can only be seen by people ready to face fear. I'm the Spirit of Fear," Danny explained. Danielle shook her head.

"But you're still here! That means you're back Danny," Danielle retorted.

"Dani, who are you talking to?" Tucker asked nervously. Danielle turned to him.

"Danny, he's right in front of me. You can't see him?" Danielle answered.

"They aren't ready to face their fears. Sam and Tucker can't see me. Jamie can though," Danny interjected as Sam and Tucker shook their heads, looking at Danielle with concern. Danielle turned to Danny.

"But they have to see you! This isn't fair," Danielle complained. Danny shrugged.

"It's the way it works," Danny retorted.

"You have to make them see you," Danielle ordered. Danny shook his head.

"I've tried before Dani. Nothing works. Trust me," Danny replied. Jamie glanced at Jack who frowned sympathetically and shrugged. He didn't know how to help Danny either. It was heart breaking to watch.

Danny placed his hands on Danielle's shoulders.

"It's alright Dani. It's okay for them not to see me. All I ask is that you tell my parents. They're searching for me in the Ghost Zone. They need to move on. Tell them that ghosts form directly after death. Lie and say that you found out from Clockwork or someone. Help them to stop holding out hope of seeing me again. I'm gone," Danny requested. Danielle shook her head and began to cry again, this time due to sadness.

"It's not fair. This is all Vlad's fault!" she growled.

"Dani, it's not. It's mine. If I had been more careful or prepared that night I might have had a better plan. If I had paid attention more during that ghost fight, maybe I wouldn't have led my parents right into Vlad's lab. This is my fault," Danny admitted. Danielle looked up sharply.

"It's not your fault Danny! You didn't force Vlad to go to the Guys in White. You didn't deserve to get shot," Danielle retorted quickly and firmly. Jamie gasped. He hadn't known how Danny died.

"Dani, you're starting to worry us," Sam called and got up. She walked up to Danielle, not seeing Danny beside her and tried to get the ghost girl to look at her.

"Dani, there's no one there," Sam began. Danielle shook her head.

"I'm going to get them to see you," she decided and grabbed Sam.

"Dani! Don't!" Danny shouted as Danielle grabbed Tucker and phased them out of the room. Danny ran after them.

"Dani!" Danny yelled and flew after her. Jamie and Jack shared a look and Jack grabbed Jamie and flew after them, using doors instead of the wall.

 **So… that could have gone better, right? Let me know what you guys think.**

 **In case you're wondering how Danielle was able to face her fear so easily, think about it. She had Danny with her to help her. Unlike Jamie, Danny and Danielle had history.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29

Danielle flew through the night air, thinking frantically of any way to force Sam and Tucker to face their fears. Danielle recalled Tucker's fears of hospitals and doctors and everything medical. Danielle headed towards the hospital.

"Dani! What's going on?!" Sam shouted over the wind from Danielle's fast flying. Danielle ignored her. They wouldn't understand until they saw Danny for themselves. She had to get them to face their fears. It wasn't right that they couldn't see Danny. It wasn't fair.

Poor Danny must have been so alone. Danielle knew that feeling. Before Danny had died, Danielle had travelled the world alone, scared of Vlad. She had been a nobody to everyone who looked at her. She didn't even have a last name. But at least she could talk to people. Danny couldn't be seen by anyone. Well anyone except Jamie and now her. Danielle would fix that for him. He had saved her life. She owed him this much. Besides it was only right that Sam and Tucker got to see him as well.

She set her sights on the hospital and zoomed towards it. Tucker noticed Danielle's destination and shut his eyes.

"I'm not being kidnapped by a crazy half ghost and taken to a hospital. I'm being taken to a modelling agency. With beautiful models. At night. Yeah, a modelling agency," Tucker began to mutter. Danielle frowned at him.

"Tuck, you have to face this!" she snapped.

"Dani, what is going on with you? You know Tucker hates the hospital. Why are we going there?" Sam called.

"Because he has to face his fears," Danielle answered.

Suddenly Danny appeared in front of Danielle and if she had been on the ground, she would have screeched to a stop.

"Dani! You can't do this. This isn't right!" Danny attempted to reason with her.

"No, them not seeing you isn't right," Danielle retorted and phased through him, flying towards the hospital with Sam and Tucker, both truly beginning to think that Pitch and the ghost hunting was getting to her.

Danny spun around and shot after her. But Danielle turned herself and her unwilling passengers invisible and phased inside the hospital. Danny growled in annoyance.

"Dammit Dani," he grumbled and phased into the top floor of the hospital and systemically began searching for them. Jamie and Jack following close behind through an open window but Danny was long gone.

"Good, he went on," Danielle whispered and turned Sam and Tucker visible and removed her hands from their mouths.

"Dani! What is going on with you?" Sam demanded. Danielle scowled at Sam and turned to Tucker.

"Tuck, you have to face this fear. You have to open your eyes and face it," Danielle urged. Sam grabbed Danielle's shoulder and spun her around.

"How much sleep have you been getting? Did Pitch hit your head?" Sam questioned aggressively, but still concerned. Danielle glared at the other girl.

"No, but I would've thought you guys would want to see Danny again. This is the only way. You have to face your fears to see him," Danielle explained.

"Dani, I think you've had enough for one night," Sam began. Danielle's eyes flashed brightly with frustration and she spotted Jamie watching the exchange.

"Jamie right? Tell them. Tell them that you can see Danny too," Danielle ordered. Sam blinked in shock.

"How did you know his name?" Sam whispered. Danielle turned to the girl.

"Because Danny told me. Go on Jamie," Danielle replied, pleading with Jamie. Jamie bit his lip and nodded.

"Yeah, I can see him. He helped me, like he helped her to face her fears when Pitch attacked," Jamie confirmed. Danielle smiled gratefully at him and turned back to Tucker.

"So open your eyes and stop muttering about models. Tucker if you face this fear, you'll see Danny," Danielle promised. Tucker shook his head, keeping his eyes firmly shut.

"Danny's gone Dani. Facing my fears isn't going to magically bring him back," Tucker mumbled sadly.

"I'm not sure where I heard this, but if it helps, it's alright to be afraid as long as that fear doesn't stop you from doing what you have to. Like, Danny faced Pariah Dark even though he didn't know if he was going to come back," Jamie offered, breaking the heavy silence that fell. Sam stared at Jamie in disbelief.

"How do you know that? We never told anyone how Danny was acting on the roof before he left. He never even told us how the fight went, only that it wore him out and he won," Sam demanded. Jamie blinked in surprise. He shook his head and shrugged. Jack suddenly recalled what Danny said at the North Pole.

"Jamie, Danny can subconsciously tell kids things but they won't knowingly hear him. They'll recognise his name and know things he said but they won't know from where. I think Danny must have told you that stuff, probably when Pitch attacked you," Jack realised and informed Jamie. Jamie gasped and nodded.

"Danny told me I think. It's how his powers work. He can tell people things subconsciously but they won't know he told them," Jamie explained.

Danielle grinned and nodded to Sam.

"You see, proof! So Tuck, come on. You can do this. Open your eyes and face your fears. You did it that time Spectra gave everyone ghost powers remember. You broke your leg," Danielle encouraged. Tucker scowled, his eyes still shut.

"Will you stop this if I do as you say?" Tucker requested. Danielle bit her lip and reluctantly agreed.

Tucker nodded and took a calming breath before opening his eyes. He cautiously looked around and took in the almost empty ward they were standing in. He nervously walked over to a map and scanned it before turning to Danielle and Sam with a small smile.

"You know, I think I've been overreacting. I don't like hospitals still but I don't think I'm scared of them anymore after all," Tucker announced. Jamie and Danielle groaned. This hadn't gone to plan after all. Tucker had to face his fears to see Danny, not get over them!

 **What? It couldn't be that easy. Let me know what you guys think.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	30. Chapter 30

Danielle took a steadying breath before she got angry and shouted at Tucker. It wasn't his fault that he had cured himself of his fear of hospitals, just had bad timing. Danielle turned to Sam.

"Okay, what about you Sam? What are you afraid of? We'll try again with Tucker," Danielle decided.

"Wait, what do you mean "we'll try again with Tucker"?" Tucker interjected.

"Danny can only be seen by people facing their fears not people that get over them," Jamie answered.

Danielle nodded and turned to Sam expectantly. Sam shook her head.

"I'm not afraid of anything," she replied. Danielle scowled at her.

"Everyone's afraid of _something_!" Danielle insisted. Sam folded her arms and gave her best glare to the ghost girl. Tucker bit his lip.

"I think I might know one thing Sam's afraid of. Danny not coming back," Tucker muttered. Sam's glare faltered for a split second before it was directed at Tucker. Danielle frowned.

"But Sam can't face that fear. There has to be something else," Danielle decided.

Before any of them could come up with any ideas, they heard an explosion above them. Danielle, Jamie, Tucker and Sam looked to each other and ran to the closest window, Jack trailing behind them unnoticed. All Sam and Tucker saw were shadows creatures of black sand flying through the air. But Danielle and Jamie saw Danny being attacked by said creatures. He blasted them back with green and blue energy blasts but there were so many he was being overwhelmed. Danielle gasped with concern and jumped into the air and phased through the window and blasted the creatures with her ghost rays.

Sam and Tucker ran to a larger window with a fire escape attached and climbed through the window. Jamie looked to Jack.

"I thought Danny stopped Pitch," Jamie remarked. Jack frowned.

"So did I. The others were going to deal with him, you know force him to stop spreading fear and so on," Jack informed him. As they spoke Tooth flew through the fire escape window.

"There you are! What are you doing at the hospital?" Tooth panted, breathless from flying so fast.

"One of Danny friends saw him. She was trying to get Sam and Tucker to see him as well. Apparently Tucker used to have a fear of hospitals," Jack explained. Tooth nodded, trying catch her breath.

"What happened to Pitch?" Jack asked. Tooth shook her head.

"Pitch wasn't defeated, only dazed. As soon as we got him out of that room, he called his nightmare horses and they attacked us. In the confusion, he escaped. I see that Danny already knows. I'm guessing that the girl helping him is the friend that can see him," Tooth replied. Jamie nodded.

"That's Danielle Phantom, better known as Dani, with an "i" not a "y". She's a clone of Danny Phantom created by Vlad Masters slash Vlad Plasmius. She took over Danny's job after he died," Jamie recalled. Jack and Tooth blinked in surprise at him before nodding.

"I'll help Danny, Jack you and Jamie find Sam and Tucker. I saw them going down the fire escape," Tooth suggested. Jack and Jamie nodded and ran to the fire escape.

Tooth flew through the window and rushed to help Danny. She charged through a nightmare sand creature, smashing it.

"Danny!" she called. Danny dodged a creature and blasted it apart. He looked up at Tooth and shot one creature charging at her.

"Pitch got away then," he replied with annoyance. Tooth bit her lip and nodded.

"Who are you talking to?" Danielle shouted as she blasted two creatures attacking her simultaneously.

"Tooth, the tooth fairy. She can only be seen if you're like me or if you believe in her. You know about the tooth fairy right?" Danny answered calmly and fired a series of energy blasts at a number of nightmare creatures.

Unlike before, there weren't just horses, now there were ravens, vultures and wolves. Anything that could be deemed as terrifying. Tooth was impressed by how easily the girl worked alongside Danny. They worked in perfect harmony, taking on opponents and yet never getting in each other's way for a second. But then again, they were clones if Jamie was correct, they would naturally work well together.

"Tooth, did you see where Sam and Tucker went?" Danny asked as he froze a sand creature flying towards her. Tooth blinked in surprise.

"Jack and Jamie went after them. They were on the fire escape the last I saw," Tooth replied. Danny nodded and he gave her a quick glance.

"Do you have any weapons?" he inquired. Tooth shrugged.

"Not really. I'm not much of a fighter. I usually fight using one of Bunny's boomerangs or by flying," Tooth admitted.

Danny gave her a quick nod before blasting a raven charging directly for him and Danielle shot a wolf sneaking up on him. Danny gave his clone a quick appreciative smile and held his hands together. He pulled both glowing hands apart and he formed a sharp green-tinged ice boomerang. He tossed it to Tooth.

"Here, use that. Shouldn't melt on you and my ghost energy will enforce it," Danny informed her. Tooth blinked in surprise and caught the ice boomerang. She tested its weight and was impressed with the constructed weapon. She grinned at Danny and nodded. She then charged into the mass of nightmare sand creatures and began to destroy any that dared cross her path.

 **So… yeah, the fight continues. Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	31. Chapter 31

Sam and Tucker ran down the fire escape and ran under the battle, that to their eyes, Danielle was fighting alone. Sam pulled out her gun and began to prime it. Tucker frowned and scanned the sky.

"Sam, Dani's not the only one fighting," he realised. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? I don't see anyone else up there or out here helping her," Sam pointed out. Tucker shook his head.

"Neither can I, but can you explain why those black creature things are being smashed apart when Dani's not even facing that way? And you know she's useless at making duplicates during a fight. She's worse than Danny was," Tucker replied. Sam frowned and watched the fight and gasped as she saw three different creatures explode without Danielle even looking in that direction.

"Maybe Dani's not as crazy as we think," Tucker muttered. Sam glanced at him.

"If she's right, she can see Danny," Sam whispered, her eyes filling with tears which she refused to shed. Tucker nodded slowly.

"Man, I wish I hadn't gotten over my fears now," he growled.

"Guys! There you are," Jamie shouted as he joined them. Sam bit her lip and glanced at the younger boy.

"Jamie… you can see what's going on up there, can't you?" Sam ventured. Jamie blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, a fight," he retorted uncertainly.

"We can see that something other than Dani is fighting those things. And since you can see stuff we can't…" Tucker resumed for Sam. Sam nodded to him and turned to Jamie.

"Please, Jamie. Tell us what _you_ see," Sam requested. Jamie bit his lip and glanced at the air beside him.

"Alright, but you're going to think I'm crazy. Have you ever heard of Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, Sandman, the tooth fairy?" Jamie began. Sam and Tucker scowled at him.

"Jamie, we're not interested in bedtime stories. We want to know what's going on up there!" Sam grumbled and pointed at the fight above them. Jamie glared impatiently at them.

"I know, but I need to explain this stuff first! Well, those… people I guess. They're real. And they're the guardians along with Jack Frost. They can only be seen if you believe in them," Jamie continued. Sam and Tucker frowned in annoyance at him. Jamie sighed.

"Well, I believe in them so I can see them. It took me a long time to see Danny as well. And Pitch, according to Danny, can only be seen by those afraid of him. Jack's standing right next to me. And above you, I can see Danny, Tooth, the tooth fairy, and Dani Phantom… not really sure what I should call her, but I see them fighting those nightmare sand creatures," Jamie concluded. Sam and Tucker glanced up and narrowed their eyes.

"How is Danny fighting?" Sam asked sceptically. Jamie glowered at her in annoyance.

"You don't believe me do you?" Jamie muttered.

"Look, it's not that we don't believe you but… well we were there when Danny died. Just taking your word that our friend is still around and up there fighting… it's a lot to take in," Tucker replied gently, sadness clearly pronounced. Jamie bit his lip and turned to the air beside him. He nodded.

"Alright, I don't know Danny that well. Jack knows him best. Apparently Danny's powers changed a lot when he became the Spirit of Fear. That's what Danny is now. He doesn't tell Jack much but he can't duplicate anymore, until tonight, he didn't even know if he could use his ghostly wail. He looks a lot different too. He has ice powers but he only seems to use his left hand for those. And he still has his ghost powers but only uses his right hand. He can sense fear now and he can talk telepathically with kids, subconsciously. But it looks like he's using his ice and ghost powers," Jamie repeated on Jack's behalf. Sam and Tucker stared at the boy.

"I'm telling the truth," Jamie assured them. Jamie expectantly looked to his side, to Jack, and then up. He gasped. Sam and Tucker followed his gaze and gaped in shock at the sheer volume of nightmare creatures swarming above their heads. Danielle blasted creature after creature but she was overwhelmed and thrown to the ground. She hit her head and reverted to her human half with a flash of two rings of light originating from her waist. Her stark white ponytail changed to black loose hair. She now wore a beanie hat. Her black and white two piece jumpsuit changed to a pair of jeans and blue hoodie. Sam, Tucker and Jamie ran to the halfa's side.

"Dani!" Sam and Tucker cried out. Jamie hung back but he nodded to the air beside him and turned to the trio in front of him, not seeing the explosion of ice freezing a large number of the nightmare creatures.

Tucker looked up and gasped at the icy air floating down to them.

"Jack's gone to help them," Jamie explained noticing Tucker's shock.

"Which is exactly what I wanted," Pitch announced stepping out of a shadow and grinned at the trio around Danielle. Fear stabbed at Sam and Tucker as they watched the creature stroll leisurely towards them.

"What do you want Pitch?!" Jamie demanded. Pitch chuckled.

"Don't bother to try and hid your fear boy. I can sense it within you just like that annoying Spirit of Fear," Pitch retorted. Jamie scowled at him.

"I'm just doing what Danny taught me. I'm facing you instead of running away," Jamie snarled. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other and nodded. This was the king of nightmares! If they could face their fear of him, maybe, just maybe they would see Danny.

They stood up and stepped protectively in front of Danielle.

"You don't frighten us Pitch," Sam growled. Pitch turned to her and sniggered as she flinched.

"Yes I do," he remarked.

"Remember, it's alright to be afraid, just don't let that stop you from doing what's important," Jamie reminded them. Tucker blinked.

"Wait, how did Danny become the Spirit of Fear?" Tucker inquired.

"Because the Man in the Moon chose him. Ha! That old fool still thinks that his guardians can stop me," Pitch answered arrogantly. Jamie frowned.

"But Danny isn't a guardian," Jamie pointed out. Pitch grinned at the boy.

"Actually he is. He was chosen recently but he's refused to join the others," Pitch told him smugly. Sam glanced at Tucker.

"Why is any of this important?" she prompted.

"Because of what Jamie said. Remember how Danny died? He faced it! He knew Vlad was going to shoot him but he stood there and took that bullet to protect everyone. Sam, we have to do the same. We have to be just as brave as Danny was," Tucker realised.

Sam and Tucker turned to Pitch and glared at him.

"He's right. Danny was always facing his fears," Sam whispered. Pitch smirked cockily.

"What makes you so sure he can save you?" Pitch replied smoothly.

"Because you still underestimate me!" Danny shouted as he landed firmly in front of Sam and Tucker, not noticing that they heard and saw him.

 **And finally Sam and Tucker can see Danny. But their heart-felt reunion will have to wait a bit.**

 **Not much left of the story, but let me know what you guys think of it so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	32. Chapter 32

Pitch sneered at Danny.

"You still think you're a match for me. I thought I proved to you that the Spirit of Fear can't stand up against the boogieman. All you can do is whisper encouraging words to brats having panic attacks. I, on the other hand, can snuff out any light," Pitch gloated as a streetlight nearby shattered. Danny scowled at him.

"You still don't understand what I stand for Pitch," Danny growled. Pitch raised a confident eyebrow.

"Do enlighten me," Pitch sniggered. Danny took a daring step forward.

"I may be called the Spirit of Fear, but I don't protect that. The guardians protect wonder, dreams, fun and hope. Your fear can stop kids feeling that. I'm the bridge in between. _I_ can reach any child if they let me. I can show kids how to conquer their fears. Do you know why?" Danny began. Pitch laughed.

"You truly do have a high opinion of yourself," he commented. Danny bared his teeth in anger and took another step forward.

"Pitch, I can undo everything you've done, and I think I figured out how. You reek of fear. I can change that," Danny warned. Pitch's confident smile wavered for a second. He shook his head.

"Nothing is stronger than fear," he retorted softly.

Danny smirked confidently.

"Well, that's where you're wrong. There is one thing that can always beat fear. And that's what I protect. I protect bravery," Danny replied calmly and stood in front of Pitch.

"The last time I was this close to you without hitting you was in Europe. Remember what I told you?" Danny recalled. Pitch licked his lips nervously, feeling the power and calm radiating from Danny and his own fear grow. Danny smiled.

"I told you, if you allowed one child to get hurt, I'd show you why the name Danny Phantom was feared throughout the Ghost Zone. You said you didn't need to bother with him. And you're right. You don't. You have to deal with me and right now I'm furious at you. You _dare_ attack my hometown and friends and family. I did warn you," Danny informed him in an even, but furious tone. Before anyone could react Danny plunged his fist into Pitch's chest. Pitch's eyes widened in fear.

"Now you understand why you shouldn't have messed with me," Danny hissed as he vanished into Pitch.

Sam and Tucker stared in shocked as Pitch doubled over. They had never seen Danny so threatening before. They were also stunned to see Danny after four years of him being dead. Jamie glanced over his shoulder as he heard Tooth and Jack landed behind them. Tooth was supporting Jack as he leaned heavily on her and his staff. The nightmare creatures above dispersed and shattered.

"Jack! Are you alright?" Jamie called in concern. Jack smiled at him and Tooth helped him to walk over to the boy.

"Yeah, just over did it. Give me a few minutes and I'll be starting snowball fights in no time. Where's Danny?" Jack answered. Jamie turned to Pitch. Jack and Tooth gasped as they saw Pitch start to pulse with green and blue energy.

Meanwhile Danny had overshadowed Pitch. Both Pitch and Danny found themselves in a dark world. Pitch twisted around to see where he was and turned to Danny.

"What did you do to me?" he whispered fearfully. Danny folded his arms and looked around.

"I'm pretty new to this side of my altered overshadowing ability but I believe we are in your subconscious, specifically where your inner child is smothered by fear. Only done this twice before and that's been the case both times," Danny explained truthfully. Pitch glowered at him.

"My inner child, as you say, is not smothered by fear. I am fear!" Pitch growled. Danny raised an eyebrow. Pitch returned to looking around himself.

"Daddy?" a soft female voice called. Danny glanced up as he saw a young child, no older than six wander over to Pitch. The girl had long black hair and dark eyes which were a stark contrast to her pale skin and white dress. Pitch froze at the sight of the little girl.

"No! Stop this!" Pitch demanded. Danny shook his head.

"I'm not doing anything Pitch. This is _your_ subconscious talking to you," Danny replied calmly, intrigued by the child. Then the shadows around them came alive and charged at the child.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Pitch pleaded. Danny stepped forward.

"Pitch, you have to face these fears. Tell them to leave you be," Danny explained. Pitch shook his head and cried out in fear and alarm as the shadows began to circle the child. Danny stood beside Pitch.

"Explain this to me Pitch. I can't help her if I don't understand," Danny requested, taking pity on the boogieman. Pitch shook his head and stared fearfully at the girl who had begun to cry and tremble in fear.

"Pitch!" Danny shouted. Pitch turned to Danny and glared at him.

"Help her," Pitch ordered. Danny raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tell me what's going on," Danny repeated. Pitch bit his lip and glanced at the little girl.

"She's my daughter. When I was human I was tricked into freeing creatures of fear. They corrupted me and I watched as my very presence around her terrified her. It was even harder than not being seen. I created the Dark Ages to show everyone how terrible the dark is," Pitch whispered.

"What happened to her?" Danny prompted, beginning to understand why Pitch was so cruel. Pitch's dark cruel eyes softened into sorrow and grief.

"I frightened her to death. I-I didn't mean to. I just wanted to be close to her. I-I got too close," Pitch recalled as he began to cry silently. Danny nodded slowly.

"So you want everyone to fear you for what you did?" Danny asked. Pitch shrugged and nodded.

The shadows edged closer to the frightened girl. Pitch made to step forward but stopped himself.

"I can't save her, can I? This isn't real… this is you!" Pitch growled and turned on Danny. Pitch attempted to punch Danny only to go through Danny as he turned himself intangible.

"I told you Pitch. I'm not doing this. This is your subconscious. You want to save her? Then you have to stand up to your fears, you must face yourself," Danny retorted. Pitch shook his head.

"I can't," Pitch bellowed in desperation. Danny glanced at Pitch and shook his head.

"Pitch, I know it's hard to face yourself," Danny began.

"How would you know that?!" Pitch demanded harshly. Danny unfolded his arms and acting on instinct used his ghost energy to create an illusion of his older, evil, alternate self.

"When I was fourteen, I learned what my future held Pitch. This was my future. This… monster. He is the fusion of my ghost half and Vlad Plasmius's ghost half. Created by grief and self-hatred. He killed my alternate human self and then went on a ten year rampage. He destroyed the Ghost Zone, hurt my enemies, and destroyed the human world. He attempted to kill my friends but I stopped him. I faced myself and it became my worst fear. What if everything I did didn't change my future? What if I only pushed my fate back and would eventually turn evil and become a monster? I was a very powerful ghost Pitch. If I had put my mind to it, I could have too easily destroyed Amity Park and killed everyone within. But I decided to face that fear and take responsibility for it. I vowed that I would never turn into that. Now I know it won't happen because I won't grow up Pitch. I'm dead and buried. Now you have to do the same thing," Danny explained. Pitch stared at the illusion.

Pitch turned back to his daughter and nodded.

"But I'm not strong enough to do this alone," Pitch whispered sadly.

"And that's why I'm here. If you accept my help and face this with me, I can help you," Danny replied with a warm smile and allowed his illusion to fade away. Pitch turned to Danny and smiled gratefully.

"But why help me? I tried to destroy your home. I tried to destroy the belief of thousands of children," Pitch pointed out. Danny shrugged.

"Like they always say, once a hero, always a hero. That and I was a terrible student, never could learn my lesson," Danny retorted with a smile. Pitch nodded with a small smile of his own. The girl screamed fearfully as another shadow lunged threateningly towards her without attacking her. Pitch took a deep breath and walked purposely to the little girl. Danny charged his hands with energy and fired it at the shadows. The moment Pitch reached his daughter, she held her arms up to him for him to hug her. Pitch faltered.

"Face your fear! You have to face your fear of touching your daughter Pitch!" Danny shouted as he shot down the growing shadows charging towards Pitch and his inner daughter.

 **This chapter took a bit of time to write because I needed to come up with a fear for the king of nightmares. I looked up Pitch's origin and so used that. Let me know what you guys think.**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter.**


	33. Chapter 33

Sam, Tucker, Jamie, Jack and Tooth watched as Pitch feel to his knees and pulsed brightly with green and blue energy.

"What is he doing?" Sam whispered fearfully. Jamie turned to the two present guardians. They noticed Jamie looking at them and shrugged.

"Tooth and Jack don't know," Jamie announced. Tucker bit his lip.

"You don't think he's trying to… _get rid_ of Pitch do you?" Tucker asked to no one in particular. Jamie and Sam glanced at each other.

"The Danny we knew would never do something like that. But I've never seen him that angry before. He promised that he wouldn't turn into _him_ and I don't know, this feels like something _he'd_ do," Sam replied. Jamie looked up as Sandy arrived on the scene. Sandy landed beside Jack and number of shapes appeared over his head.

"I'm fine Sandy, just tired. But Danny's inside Pitch. We don't really know what he's doing," Jack answered.

Then a rabbit hole appeared a few feet away and Bunny's head popped out. He spotted Sandy and the others.

"North, I found them!" Bunny shouted down into the tunnel and jumped out, followed by North. The hole closed up and a pink flower appeared in its place.

"What's going on?" North inquired. Jack and Tooth shrugged and nodded to Pitch.

"Danny's doing something, but we don't know what," Tooth replied.

Suddenly there was an explosion of black smoke from Pitch. The shadows around him deepened as the smoke was swallowed up. His shadowy form lessened and took a lighter shape, more humanoid and approachable. His smoothed back hair softened into actual locks of hair. His body changed to a black robe and his feet melted out of the shadows that usually clung to him. His face became lighter and changed from a grey complexion to a pale white one. He was still black and white and varying shades in between, at least all except a new addition. A beautiful golden locket now hung around Pitch's neck. The green and blue pulsing energy stopped and a moment later Danny fell out of him. He looked weak and tired, but unharmed. Pitch opened his eyes and his hand instantly clutched the locket.

Everyone stared in disbelief at Pitch's transformation. Danny slowly crawled to his feet and looked up at the moon.

"There, you happy?" he grumbled. The moon seemed to get a little brighter. Danny snorted.

"Like I said, worse than Clockwork," Danny mumbled and shook his head. He turned to Pitch. He offered the king of nightmares his hand and Pitch took it. Danny helped the tall man to his feet. The guardians, Jamie, Sam and Tucker watched in disbelief as they saw Pitch cry silently. He turned to Danny and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm so sorry. Thank you. Thank you so much," Pitch sobbed.

Danny squirmed uncomfortably and awkwardly patted Pitch on the back.

"I didn't really do much Pitch. You're the one that faced your fear," Danny muttered softly. Pitch pushed away from Danny gently and nodded. He didn't even look at their audience.

"I'm going to recall all my nightmares. I'm going to return to my previous role as _their_ guardian," Pitch informed him. Danny nodded and gave Pitch an encouraging smile.

"If you have any trouble, you know where to find me," Danny offered. Pitch smiled gratefully and walked into a shadow and melted away, still clinging to the locket around his neck.

Danny turned to the others watching him. He blinked in surprise as he saw Sam and Tucker also watching him.

"Hey," he greeted them, eager to break the silence. Sam and Tucker walked towards him, seemingly in a daze. Danny shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"I guess Dani got you to face your fears. How is she?" Danny muttered nervously. Tucker hesitantly touched Danny's shoulder before his eyes brimmed with tears and hugged his friend tightly. Danny smiled softly and patted Tucker on the back as the twenty year old sobbed. Tucker was now taller than Danny and had to stoop to hug him but neither boy cared. Four years was a long time for best friends to be apart.

After a few minutes Tucker released Danny mumbled something about checking Danielle and wiped the tears off his face and sniffed loudly. Danny turned to Sam, who had stared in disbelief as Tucker and Danny hugged. She closed the distance between them both and looked into his mismatched eyes. They were the same height. Danny nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sam, say something. You usually have something to say," Danny requested anxiously.

Sam gingerly touched his face and kissed him. Danny instantly pulled away and shook his head sadly. Sam bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Sam quickly apologised. Danny smiled and shook his head.

"No, it's just… you have to move on Sam and if I let you get close to me, you won't. I'm dead Sam and I'm not coming back. You deserve someone… living," Danny explained softly. Sam shook her head and blinked back tears.

"I love _you_!" she insisted. Danny sighed sadly.

"And I love you Sam but it doesn't matter. You can't be with me because I'm not here anymore. I'm not even Danny Phantom or Danny Fenton. I can hardly remember Fenton's life. It's to do with all this," Danny replied and gestured to his appearance. Sam bit her lip.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you Danny. It was my fault. If I hadn't been so weak, Vlad would never have caught me and you-" Sam began. Danny scowled at her and pulled her into a hug.

"Sam, stop right there. You were not to blame for my death! If anyone was it was me. I should have waited for my parents. I should have gone as Fenton. I knew I wasn't walking away Sam. I'm sorry you had to watch," Danny interrupted firmly. Sam quietly cried into his shoulder as four years of guilt and grief poured out of her. Danny held her and glanced at Jamie and the guardians. He gave them a small smile.

Eventually Sam stopped crying and withdrew from Danny. She wiped her cheeks and caught sight of the amount of black make up on her hands.

"I must look a mess," she muttered with a small laugh. Danny shook his head and smiled.

"Not to me Sam. Give me a minute, I need to have a chat with the guardians," Danny requested. Sam bit her lip and nodded.

"So, they're real?" she ventured. Danny laughed good-naturedly.

"Yeah, they're real," Danny confirmed. Sam smirked.

"Guess your dad won the argument," Sam joked. Danny frowned in confusion.

"Argument? What argument?" he inquired. Sam's eyes widened.

"The argument your parents have every year about Santa Clause being real. It's the reason you hate Christmas," Sam reminded him. Danny shrugged.

"Don't remember that. But like I said, I don't remember much of my human half's life. I think it's because Phantom was already technically dead. Sorry," Danny admitted. Sam watched Danny walked over to an empty space near Jamie, stunned by what he had said.

 **So, the fallout of what happened begins. Let me know what you think so far.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	34. Chapter 34

Danny stopped in front of the guardians and took a deep breath.

"So, what now? Pitch won't be causing trouble anymore and I have a lot of work ahead of me," Danny asked. The guardians stared at him. Danny frowned at them.

"What?" he inquired with annoyance.

"What did you do to Pitch?" Tooth whispered. Danny smiled kindly.

"I helped him. He was consumed by his own fear. Apparently he was created when he was corrupted by creatures of fear. So, I gave him enough time and space to face his fear and get back his freedom. Not sure if it's my place to say exactly what happened back there but he's not a threat anymore," Danny answered.

"So, that's it? Crisis over?" Jack replied after a brief silence, stepping away from Tooth having recovered from the battle before. Danny shrugged.

"Guess so. Took a bit of figuring out and… honestly if it hadn't been for you Jack, I'd probably still be on that mountain. So thanks," Danny retorted with a smile. Jack grinned and glanced at Bunny smugly.

"See, way better than a sack," Jack bragged. Bunny rolled his eyes.

"And you're still a show pony," Bunny grumbled.

Suddenly Jack was hit by a snow ball, startling everyone. Jack blinked in shock and turned to the direction of the snow ball. Danny waved at him with a playful smirk.

"I told you I'd get you back," Danny reminded him. Jack laughed and formed his own snow ball.

"Oh, you do not want to start a snow ball fight with me," Jack retorted with a mischievous grin. Danny raised an eyebrow and walked closer to Jamie.

"You have to catch me first Frost," Danny challenged over his shoulder. Jack's eyes lit up with excitement.

Danny turned to Sam and Tucker.

"Take care of her, alright. I'll be back tomorrow to explain things, but Pitch will need my help to round up all these nightmare creatures or whatever they are. Besides, Jamie needs to get home," Danny announced nodding to Danielle and turning to Jamie. Jamie blinked in surprise. Danny gave him an encouraging smile and held out a hand to the boy.

"I'll teleport you home," Danny offered.

"You can't teleport," Tucker interjected. Danny looked at Tucker.

"I can now. Figured it out after I died. Comes in handy. But fair warning Jamie, you'll feel really dizzy when we arrive," Danny replied. Jamie nervously took Danny's hand and they both vanished in a puff of green smoke. Sam and Tucker gasped.

The guardians hovered uncertainly near the twenty year olds and the unconscious halfa. They wanted to help but they couldn't be seen. Tucker managed to scoop Danielle into his arms once they got over their shock. Sam nervously cleared her throat.

"Don't know if you guys are still there, but thanks for everything you did to help Danny. Wish we could see you, but with us… seeing is believing I guess," Sam awkwardly called into night. Sam and Tucker then began to walk away. The guardians turned to Jack and he gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Fine, I'll work my magic," he grumbled, secretly eager to gain two or three more believers. He ran after Sam and Tucker, Tucker still carrying Danielle.

Sam frowned and glanced around her as she noticed a small snow flurry surrounding her and Tucker.

"I wonder if that's Danny," she muttered. Tucker shook his head.

"Can't be, he said he'd be back tomorrow. And Danny's never early for anything," Tucker replied. Jack huffed in annoyance.

"Kids are so much easier," Jack mumbled. Jack then smirked as he froze the ground in front of the ghost hunters. Sam and Tucker came to an abrupt halt.

"Danny wouldn't do that," Sam whispered with a suspicious eyebrow raised. Tucker nodded. They gasped as frost appeared across the icy patch. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other.

"Frost… you don't think… Jack Frost," they realised in unison. Then they turned to the sound of laughter and gasped as a teenaged boy with dark blue eyes, white hair and a large light blue hoodie appeared in front of them leaning lazily on a wooden staff.

"Hey, nice to be believed in," he commented with a smirk.

Tucker gave a nervous laugh.

"Just when you think you've seen everything," he muttered. Sam smiled at Jack.

"So, you've been following Jamie around all evening I guess," she assumed. Jack shrugged.

"Most of it. Not all. Like I couldn't get into that cafeteria and I kept my distance when he spoke with you two so he didn't look crazy," Jack confessed. Sam and Tucker nodded.

"That doesn't sound good I know, but we were only trying to help," Jack began. Sam held up a hand.

"Jack, we've been ghost hunting for six years. Invisibility isn't that new to us. I guess your method is a variation. So are the other guardians still around?" Sam inquired. Jack nodded.

"My powers leave the biggest impression but they're all here. But you can't see them unless you believe," Jack informed them. Sam glanced at Tucker.

"Sorry, Jack. We believe in ghosts but for us… the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny… bit much," Sam admitted. Jack nodded in understanding.

"It's to be expected. You're adults and adults have a hard time believing in us. But at least you can see me. They're usually too busy to come out of their homes or realms. But I hang out wherever there's snow," Jack replied calmly.

Jack looked over to North as he cleared his throat loudly.

"Jack, I need to get back to the Pole. Those elves need to be watched," North informed him. Jack nodded.

"I understand North. Tooth, Sandy, guess you guys need to get back to work too huh?" Jack retorted. Tooth and Sandy nodded as they rose into the air. Sam and Tucker excused themselves to get Danielle seen to and to tell as many houses as possible that the problem had been resolved. Before long it was just Jack and Bunny left outside the hospital.

"So… um, you want a snow ball fight?" Jack asked awkwardly. Bunny scowled at him.

"No, I'm going to search for hiding places for my eggs in spring. And I mean it Frost, don't mess with Easter next year. Those blizzards aren't funny," Bunny decided, pointing a boomerang threateningly at Jack before tapping the ground with his foot.

"That's because you have no sense of humour. Besides, won't you forget all those hiding places by Easter?" Jack pointed out. Bunny snorted.

"Probably but if I look now it'll give me ideas. Besides gets me away from you," Bunny chuckled and dropped into his tunnel as it closed behind him. Jack sighed bored already and glanced around him. He looked up.

"What about you Manny? Snow ball fight?" Jack requested but the moon was silent. Jack shrugged.

"Didn't think so. Wind! Take me somewhere fun!" Jack commanded and a chilling wind swept him up into the air and threw him through the air to somewhere cold, snowy and potentially fun.

 **So, yeah… everything's back to normal for the guardians.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	35. Chapter 35

Sam, Tucker and Danielle sat at a picnic table in the park. It was early afternoon and they were beginning to wonder when Danny would return. They really regretted not setting a time with him before he disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Tucker absentmindedly tapped away on his phone while Sam and Danielle spoke about meaningless things. Tucker sighed loudly.

"How much longer are we going to wait here for? Maybe Danny's waiting for us someplace else," Tucker huffed. Sam shrugged.

"I dunno Tuck. I guess it depends on how long it takes for Danny to help Pitch with those nightmare things or whatever," Sam replied.

"You sure he said he'd be here today? He might have meant tomorrow," Danielle asked. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other and shook their heads.

"Pretty sure he meant today Dani," Sam replied calmly. It had been past midnight when they spoke with Danny. It's possible he had meant tomorrow as in the day after Hallowe'en.

"Sorry I took so long. Had a lot of catching up to do," A voice called to them as Danny walked over to them with a nervous smile. Sam, Tucker and Danielle jumped to their feet and shook their heads, muttering a barrage of assurances that it was fine.

A few minutes later, Danny was sitting with them at the picnic table.

"So did you get all the nightmare things yet?" Sam prompted. Danny smirked at her.

"Not technically my job Sam. Pitch is still rounding them up last I heard. But I have a few kids I pay close attention to. With everything that happened, I hadn't checked on them for a few days. So between helping a few kids Pitch traumatised and the kids I look out for, I've been busy," Danny explained. Danielle frowned.

"So what do you do exactly? Sam and Tucker explained what you said last night, but I still don't get it," Danielle inquired. Danny smiled.

"Alright, see that little girl over there," Danny replied and nodded to a little girl watching a group of girls laughing and smiling. Danielle, Sam and Tucker nodded.

"I can sense that she's upset and nervous. My job, or at least what I do, is to talk to her. Help her. From experience I can already guess what's up. She wants to go over to those girls but is afraid that she'll say the wrong thing or get laughed at," Danny explained.

"But only people that face their fears can see and hear you, right?" Tucker recalled. Danny nodded slowly.

"Half right. Without touching them, yes, they can't see or hear me unless they face their fears. But if I touch them, I usually touch a shoulder, I can ask them questions. Subconsciously they hear me and if they want help, they can answer me. Then I can get an idea of the situation and offer advice or support and most of the time, that's enough. But I do use my powers every now and again to put a bully in their place," Danny explained.

Danny excused himself and went over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder and began to mutter things to her. After a brief seemingly one-sided conversation, the girl went over to the group of girls and was soon laughing with them. Danny returned to the picnic table.

"So, those kids you pay attention to? They obviously have something more serious to face than fitting in at school," Sam guessed. Danny shrugged.

"Usually. One kid, Stephan. I've been working with him for a long time. He has so many phobias, it's ridiculous. But I'm getting there with him. At least he can get though a day without taking his anxiety medication now. Diana… she's a friend of Jamie's. Her mother is an abusive alcoholic. Because…. Because I wasn't around she got hurt and is in the hospital. I helped her with the social services this morning. She's being put into foster care and she's really upset and worried about it. But… I'll help her through it," Danny informed them with a small smile.

"Wow, that's rough," Tucker commented. Danny nodded sadly.

"Wait, you said you can only help if the kid wants to be helped. What happens if they don't want your help?" Danielle asked. Danny chuckled.

"Most of the time they subconsciously insult me until I leave. But sometimes those are the most interesting cases. I've heard some really inventive insults in my time," Danny answered with a smirk. Sam, Tucker and Danielle stared at him. Danny shook his head with a small laugh.

"I'd rather not repeat them. Often, they're very rude. Although there was a five year old I tried to help once that practically only spoke to me with swear words. Couldn't believe it at the time. Turned out they had anger management problems and were afraid that going to school would make it worse," Danny recalled.

The four old friends spent the next hour talking and recounting the last four years to each other. But Danny stood up and glanced around the park and sighed.

"Guess I should get back to work. It was nice talking to you guys again but this will be the last time you see me," Danny informed them.

"What?!" Sam yelped in shock and jumped to her feet. Danny smiled sadly at her and nodded.

"I'm sorry but you need to move on. Personally I thought you had when you started dating. So, Dani, remember what I asked. Tell my parents to move on," Danny replied and nodded to Danielle encouragingly. Danielle swallowed down her tears and nodded sadly. She didn't want to see Danny go again.

"No! You can't do this. We can get them to see you too. You can visit us," Sam persisted firmly. Danny smiled at Sam apologetically.

"Sam, if I visit, you can't move on. It's time to get on with your life. This is hard for me too, but it's the way it has to be. You can't date a dead person," Danny pointed out softly. Sam shook her head and blinked away hot tears that threatened.

Danny sighed sadly and pulled Sam into a hug. He looked at Tucker and saw the disappointment on his friend's face and the misery on Danielle's. He bit his lip and internally debated with himself.

"Tuck, what time is it?" Danny asked. Tucker blinked in surprise and glanced at his watch.

"Three, why?" Tucker answered. Danny pulled away from Sam.

"I'll make a deal with you guys then. You promise me to try and move on and every Hallowe'en I'll visit my grave at three. You can meet me there if you need to talk to me but I want you to understand this. I'm dead. Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom are gone. I'm just Danny now. The Spirit of Fear. Alright?" Danny suggested. Sam sniffled and gently wiped away a tear that threatened to escape her eyes.

"Really?" she whispered. Danny sighed and nodded with a warm smile.

"But that's all I'm agreeing to. One visit a year. And only as a friend Sam," Danny warned. Sam bit her lip and nodded slowly.

Danny hugged Sam again.

"Sam, I'm proud of you and please find someone that you can love and be with," Danny whispered in her ear. He withdrew and gave her a small smile.

"Just don't get them involved with ghost hunting," Danny joked sadly. Sam choked a small laugh and nodded.

"I'll miss you Danny," she replied. Danny nodded.

"I know. I miss you every day. But it's time to move on," Danny retorted gently. He turned to Danielle. She stood up and hugged Danny.

"Dani, thanks for taking over here. I can't thank you enough and I hope you're happy," Danny murmured into her ear. Danielle smiled.

"Least I could do cuz. You saved my life. Even though I never got to return the favour, I felt that I could at least try to repay you by protecting your home," Danielle explained. Danny chuckled.

"Dani, all I did was spray you with some chemical my parents developed," Danny reminded her. Danielle smiled and shook her head.

"You did more than that Danny. You helped me to see that Vlad was only using me. You gave me my freedom and then you helped me when I was destabilising. Danny, I owe you everything. So thank you," Danielle pointed out. Danny smiled sadly at her. But lost for words, turned to Tucker.

Tucker grinned and pulled Danny into a hug.

"Dude, I'm glad to see you again," Tucker muttered. Danny laughed.

"Thanks Tuck. Would you mind checking on Jazz for me every now and again? And thanks for moving on," Danny whispered. Tucker tensed and nodded.

"Relax, Tucker. I'm glad you didn't put your life on hold because of what happened. Thanks for being there for Sam too. I know it's a lot to ask, but she needs you. I can tell now that I've spoken to her that she's still grieving. It would mean a lot to me if you helped her get over me," Danny murmured softly in Tucker's ear so no one else could hear. Tucker nodded into Danny shoulder. He took a step back and sighed shakily.

"Dude, you know how to stir up old feelings," he chuckled shakily. Danny smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Tuck. But congrats on getting over your fear of hospitals," Danny commented.

"Thanks," Tucker retorted brightly before frowning.

"Wait, how did you…?" Tucker realised. Danny laughed.

"The fact that you didn't see me until after you faced Pitch Tuck. And if you were afraid in the hospital, you would still be there muttering about models. Also, when I searched the hospital for you guys trying to stop Dani, I didn't feel any fear," Danny explained. Tucker smiled nervously and shifted awkwardly.

"Sorry. Guess I had bad timing on that," Tucker mumbled. Danny shook his head.

"Don't be Tuck," Danny retorted.

Danny gave them one last look and smiled at them.

"I'm proud of you guys, really. I know that I don't have to worry about Amity Park with you guys here. And I know you can move on and be happy. You just need to try. And if you really need to, I'll be at my grave next Hallowe'en at three. I've gotten a lot better at remembering stuff now," Danny concluded with one last warm smile. Sam, Tucker and Danielle smiled sadly at him and lowered their gaze to the ground once Danny vanished in a puff of green smoke. After a brief silence, they all went their separate ways, Sam and Tucker to their homes and Danielle to Fenton Works to do as Danny asked and speak with his parents.

 **And that is that. Two more chapters left. Don't want to ruin the moment so…**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	36. Chapter 36

Jack sighed sadly. The last month had been so boring. He perched on his staff and gazed at a group of kids laughing and playfully pushing each other around. North was so busy preparing for Christmas the next month that when Jack visited, the man was so distracted he hardly noticed whether Jack was talking or not. Bunny wasn't the easiest guardian for Jack to talk to. They usually ended up arguing about one thing or another. Tooth… she was nice but a little too excitable around teeth for Jack's taste. And Sandy was great but not much of a conversationalist.

Jack formed a snowball in his hand and watched the kids in front of him and contemplated. Did they need to be encouraged to have more fun or was he just feeding his mischievous side? He shrugged not really caring and tossed the snowball at the quietest child and started a heated snowball fight. He smiled warmly at the sound of loud giggling and playful arguments. Jack hopped off his staff and snatched it out of the small hole he'd made. He walked calmly through the kids and made some ammo for them to use and smirked at a particularly well played dodge and sneak attack.

He looked up and noticed a little boy watching the snowball fight. He looked nervous about something. Jack bit his lip considering if he should throw a snowball of fun at the boy. But before he could make up his mind he noticed someone already walking over to the boy. A very distinctive someone with half a head of black hair and half a head of white hair. Danny, the Spirit of Fear. Danny crouched beside the boy and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and muttered a few things before standing up and smirked as the child walked over cautiously.

Jack watched and waited to see what the boy was going to do. The boy walked over to a hiding girl and tapped her shoulder.

"Can I join you guys?" he asked softly. The girl grinned.

"Of course you can. You can cover me. I'm Jill. You're new right?" The girl answered brightly. The boy nodded with a nervous smile.

"I'm Charlie. I moved here a few days ago," the boy replied and scooped up a handful of snow and handed it to Jill before making another snow ball for himself. Jack smiled happily at the sight before stumbling back from getting hit by a snowball himself. He straightened up and searched for the culprit before noticing Danny smirking at him, casually tossing a second snowball into the air and catching it with the same hand.

"Hey snowman. That's twice I've gotten you now, right?" Danny recalled cockily. Jack laughed.

"It doesn't count when I'm not looking Danny. How have you been?" Jack greeted, discretely creating his own snowball behind his back. Danny shrugged.

"Pretty busy to be honest. Pitch had a little trouble a couple of weeks back with a group of vicious nightmares in Russia. And Diana's finding her new home difficult," Danny replied conversationally. Jack frowned sympathetically.

"Yeah, I was sad to hear that she moved away from Burgess," Jack commented, fiddling with the snowball behind his back. Danny nodded slowly.

"Yeah, it was hard for her. But on a brighter note, Stephan finally got over his fear of the dark. Now I'm working on his fear of dentists. Not the easiest fear to help with but I'll get there," Danny retorted with a smile.

Jack smiled and unexpectedly threw his snowball at Danny. Danny flickered intangible and the snowball sailed harmlessly through him and landed on the pavement and threw his own snowball at Jack, hitting the winter spirit in the chest.

"No fair!" Jack exclaimed in disbelief. Danny laughed.

"You need to be a lot better than that Jack. Turning intangible like that is practically instinct for me by now," Danny informed him and with a twirl of his hand created another snowball.

Jack huffed playfully annoyed. Danny laughed.

"So… er, did you ever reconsider becoming a guardian?" Jack ventured. Danny blinked in surprise before shrugging.

"Never really thought about it. At first I didn't want to be a guardian because I didn't want to get close to anyone. That and since I died I really hate being ordered to do anything. But seeing how you guys interact… it's not like that, I know that now. But you don't need me now anyhow," Danny answered softly, juggling the snowball from one hand to the other distractedly. Jack frowned.

"Why? I don't get why you were so against it," Jack inquired. Danny smiled sadly.

"I think it was because I still hadn't come to terms with being dead. I was bitter about it. But now that I said a proper goodbye to at least some of my friends… I guess I feel better about it," Danny explained quietly. Jack nodded.

"Did you go back like you said?" Jack asked. Danny nodded.

"Yeah, it was nice to talk to them. But I can't visit them like you visit Jamie. It's not fair on them. But I did agree to visit every Hallowe'en in case they really need to talk to me," Danny answered. Jack smiled sympathetically at Danny.

Danny lazily tossed the snowball he made to one side.

"What about you? I see you started a snowball fight," Danny broke the silence and nodded to the escalating snowball fight behind Jack with a smile. Jack glanced at the fight and laughed.

"Yeah, wasn't sure if I should or not but I had nothing else to do. North is really busy and Bunny and I don't really get on. Tooth and Sandy… they're alright but they usually really busy," Jack informed Danny. Danny nodded slowly. He glanced at the sky and bit his lip.

"I'm sorry Jack but I need to go and check on Abby in Australia. She has a big play on and she was kind of forced into it. She has really bad stage fright," Danny apologised and frowned sadly at Jack as he deflated. Danny glanced at the kids.

"But, if you want to… it's summer there but you could come with me and then depending on how long it takes to calm her down, I might be able to take you up on that offer of a snowball fight," Danny suggested. Jack looked at Danny and grinned appreciatively.

"You don't mind?" Jack retorted quickly. Danny laughed.

"Of course not. As long as you don't distract me too much, it's fine. But I'll warn you… I'm not an easy opponent in a snowball fight," Danny warned with a mischievous grin. Jack laughed.

"Challenge accepted," Jack announced happily. Danny chuckled and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Remember, you wanted to come. Sorry for the dizziness," Danny muttered as Jack suddenly recalled that Danny would teleport as they disappeared in a puff of green mist.

 **So, that's really the end of the story. After all the story started with Danny becoming a guardian, and now he's accepted it.**

 **Until the next chapter.**


	37. Chapter 37

Sam paused as her five year old son ran to catch up.

"Mom, what's the hurry?" her son called with annoyance. Sam laughed.

"I have to be there for three sweetheart," Sam answered and took her son's hand and walked through the graveyard.

"I don't get why you have to come today. I'm going trick-or-treating in a couple of hours right?" her son reminded her. He was very bright for his age. Sam smiled down at him and nodded.

"That's right. You're going with Tucker. But this is important to me sweetie," Sam replied, sad that no one else was available. Tucker was busy at work until five and Danielle had been called to another town to get rid of a ghost for the day.

Her son huffed but stopped complaining. Sam led her son through the graveyard to a fifteen year old grave. She glanced at her watch. They were ten minutes early after all.

"What's so special about this grave?" her son inquired. Sam smiled sadly at her son and didn't answer right away. There were a couple of flower arrangements but very few people visited the grave anymore. Not after so long. It was a sad sight.

"This is my friend's grave. He was a hero. He showed me so many things sweetie," Sam answered softly with a fond smile at the white marble headstone with black venation and words.

"Mom, what does it say?" her son asked. He was only starting to learn to read. Sam smiled at him.

"It says, "Here lies Daniel Fenton a.k.a. Danny Phantom. A son, brother, friend and hero. He will be missed and our hearts are with him, wherever he may be. Rest in Peace,"" Sam read for him, crouching down beside him.

"Daniel?" the boy repeated. Sam nodded.

"That's right Danny. You were named after him," Sam revealed. The boy looked at the grave. He frowned.

"What happened to him?" her son whispered. Sam smiled sadly and pulled the boy into her and hugged him.

"I'll explain when you're older sweetie. It's not a nice story for a five year old," Sam promised. Danny frowned and turned to his mother. Sam smiled at him.

"Why are we here?" he inquired. Sam watched her son for a moment before glancing at her watch. Five minutes to three.

"Hopefully you'll see in five minutes. Now what do I always tell you?" Sam replied calmly. Danny sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's alright to be scared as long as you don't let it stop you doing what you need to do," he recited. Sam laughed softly and nodded.

"Never forget that Danny. If you remember that, you'll understand why I come here every Hallowe'en," Sam promised. Danny folded his arms and slumped against his mother.

"Why can't you just tell me?" the boy grumbled. Sam chuckled and brushed the boy's dark hair out of his eyes. He'd inherited her hair and eyes.

Mother and son waited for the next five minutes in silence. Then Sam stood up and watched the path carefully. Her son noticed the change in his mother and looked around curiously. He gasped as he saw a puff of green mist appear a few feet away. Sam smiled and glanced at her watch. One minute past.

"You're late," she called. The figure wearing jeans, black jacket and white fingerless gloves chuckled.

"Sorry Sam. But I can't be that late," the teenager apologised. Sam laughed softly and hugged the teenager.

"Only a minute," Sam informed him. The teenager rolled his eyes.

"Come on, one minute. Sam I was in India. Give me a break," the teenager pointed out.

Sam laughed.

"India?" Sam repeated. The teenager nodded.

"Yeah, a boy is getting bullied really badly there. I admit it was fun scaring those bullies," the teenager replied. Sam raised an eyebrow. The teenager smirked.

"They had it coming Sam. You should have heard the things they said to Radhesh," the teenager assured her defensively.

"Mom, who is that? Is he a ghost?" the boy inquired. Sam blinked at her son before smiling. She crouched down to him and gave him a quick kiss and hug.

"Danny, this is my friend. Danny the Spirit of Fear. Danny, this is my son, Danny," Sam introduced them. The teenager chuckled.

"Danny? Well this is going to get confusing," the teenager pointed out and crouched down to Sam's son and smiled at him.

"Only as confusing as it is with Danielle," Sam retorted with a smile. Her son bit his lip nervously and glanced at his mother.

"Did you say Spirit of Fear?" her son mumbled. Sam nodded, frowning worriedly at her son. Thankfully the teenager wasn't fazed.

"Danny, it's just a title. I'm really all about bravery. And I'm impressed that you can see me. You're a very brave little boy. How old are you?" the teenager reassured the child. The boy stared at the teenager.

"I'm five years old," the boy answered softly. The teenager nodded.

"You know, I personally know the Easter bunny and Santa Clause," the teenager informed him. The boy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" the boy exclaimed excitedly. The teenager nodded and laughed softly.

"Can you introduce me?" the boy requested. The teenager smiled.

"I could try but I only really come to Amity Park on Hallowe'en. I'll ask them next time I see them," the teenager offered. The boy nodded excitedly and looked up at his mother.

"Mom! I'm going to meet Santa and the Easter bunny!" the boy shouted happily. Sam laughed.

"Maybe Danny, don't get your hopes up just yet," Sam advised and looked at the teenager.

"Danny, would you mind if we go to the park? Can you stay for long?" Sam asked. The teenager glanced up at the sky and Sam knew that he was checking the time and comparing time zones. He smiled and nodded.

"I've got half an hour I think. But then I have to go. Gretel in Germany needs me then," Danny decided. Sam smiled and they walked through the graveyard to the nearby park.

Sam let her son run off to play on the monkey bars and watched him.

"He takes after you," Danny commented. Sam smiled and nodded.

"We get that a lot. So how are things as a guardian?" Sam asked. Danny shrugged and leant against the fence.

"Pretty quiet to be honest. If I'd known it was going to be so dull I wouldn't have agreed to make it official eight years ago," Danny remarked. Sam laughed.

"And Jack and your on-going challenge?" Sam recalled, referring to their on-going snowball fight. Danny laughed.

"Twenty to three. I'm winning. I don't see why Jack doesn't just say that I won," Danny told her. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Because snowball fights are his thing Danny," Sam pointed out. Danny nodded.

"Yeah, and being intangible is mine," Danny retorted with a smirk. He glanced at Sam's son.

"I'm impressed that he can see me," Danny informed her. Sam smiled.

"I made sure he knew what you told Jamie. It's alright to be afraid as long as you don't let that fear stop you," Sam replied. Danny nodded seriously.

"Does he know about the whole Fenton/Phantom thing?" Danny inquired. Sam shook her head.

"No. He's too young to hear about that. I'll tell him when he's older," Sam decided. Danny nodded. He looked up at the sky. Sam glanced at him.

"If you have to go, I understand. But thanks for coming every year," Sam told him softly. Danny smiled at her.

"I've got a few more minutes. Besides, if I remember correctly. You wouldn't let me leave before I agreed to visit. But I'm glad that you moved on Sam. You married a great guy," Danny commented. Sam smiled lovingly and nodded.

"I did. I just wish you and he could meet and that you were at the wedding," Sam muttered to herself but Danny raised an eyebrow. He chuckled. Sam frowned at him.

"What's funny?" she demanded.

"I've met your husband Sam. Actually I was at your wedding too. I don't usually talk to adults about their fears or worries but I made an exception for him. He was terrified on your wedding day so I helped calm him down," Danny revealed. Sam scowled at him.

"Why didn't you come and see me?" Sam asked, slightly hurt. Danny glanced at her.

"Because it was your big day Sam. I didn't want to show up uninvited and stir up the past for you. So I watched from the back, invisible. Was a lovely ceremony," Danny answered. Sam smiled at him.

"I wish you'd let us tell your parents that you're still around," Sam whispered sadly. Danny shook his head.

"It's better this way Sam. If I turn up after all these years… I don't think they'd cope. I know losing me crushed them. I do check up on them every now and again," Danny retorted softly, watching Sam's son with a smile. Sam's son had moved to the swings and was laughing with a little girl he knew.

Danny looked to the sky.

"I have to go. I really can't be late for this. Gretel's going in for an operation and she's terrified of it. Sorry this wasn't a long visit Sam. Say goodbye to Danny for me," Danny decided. Sam nodded sadly.

"These visits seem to get shorter every year," she mumbled. Danny smiled sadly.

"I'll try to be here longer next year if you want," Danny offered and hugged Sam. Sam gave him a peck on the cheek. Danny frowned at the action but didn't say anything. Sam smirked at him. He shook his head.

"Say hi to Tucker and Danielle for me," he remarked and disappeared in a puff of green mist. Sam nodded and turned back to watch her son with a loving smile.

 **And that is that. I just wanted to do one last chapter to show Sam moving on and checking in with Danny after becoming a guardian and getting some closure.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys thought of the story. I love hearing what you guys think of my work.**

 **I'd also like to thank everyone that read this story all the way to the end. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.**

 **I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who took the time and effort to review this fanfic and for helping me make the amazing milestone of getting over 100 reviews. As a celebration I've written a one shot in connection with this fanfic which will be put up soon.**

 **Until the next fanfic.**


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